Embracing Lunacy
by Shroom Crab
Summary: Dropped in a world so like my own...except there are a bunch of Monsters here! They aren't that strong...until I run into one that is! Why do I have to be so unlucky? To be honest...I don't really regret being here. Maybe just a little!
1. The Five W's

**AN: This is my first story. **

**Please review.**

Chapter 1

"Just put the gun down and we can talk this out." I must have done something terrible in a past life to have something like this happen to me. A ridiculous amount of bad luck culminating for this one moment. All I can do now is try to diffuse the situation by remaining as calm as possible.

"Stay away!" He doesn't put the gun down and continues to shake with his finger on the trigger. Can you not perform proper trigger discipline? I put my hands up to show that I mean no harm.

"Listen, I'm not going to do anything, alright? Let's just calm down and talk." He seems to consider my proposition for a moment. Trying to look back to how this started only makes me feel depressed. To mimic a certain unlucky student: such misfortune. It all started when my already loose glasses fell off my face and I stepped on them.

/'/'/

"Did that really just happen…" I don't know where my backup pair is either. This day is already starting out great. I guess I have to go out without them.

I walked to the grocery store and picked up some stuff I needed to fill my fridge. Have to skate by on with my poor-ass college self. On my way back, it starts storming even though the forecast said it would most likely not rain today. Sucks that I'm not the only one experiencing this bad luck. Then the plastic bags start ripping.

"Ah." Wonderful! The cheap-ass plastic bags tore under the weight of the groceries. This is great. I love wasting money! I let out a deep sigh to show my despondence. "What am I going to do now…" Might as well pick up everything and try to carry it all back.

I scavenge everything off the ground and stomp my way back to the frankly tall apartment complex. I nearly trip and fall into a puddle. Unfortunately, my shoes are completely waterlogged and I feel like shit. At least I made it back with shit vision and shit groceries.

Time to put everything in the fridge. At least nothing broke when the groceries fell through the bags, but it made carrying them back a large pain in the ass. I'm kind of annoyed right now.

Holy hell, I need a smoke from this lunacy that just happened. The only place where I can smoke is on the roof. Modern America isn't accommodating to smokers at all, for good reasons. I should really quit, but I need something to keep my mind off of the stress. At least I don't do it that often. When I go to the elevators I notice that both of them are out of service.

"Did I do something terrible in a past life?" This downfall of disasters one after the other is actually starting to worry me. If it keeps getting worse, then I might actually die at the end of the tunnel. It's like when a person sees a light at the end of a tunnel, except it's a fucking train.

Alright Wil, don't think Evangelion! Think Gurren Lagann! If I keep drilling my way to the future, then I'll definitely reach the light. With that motivational speech I made to myself I turn towards the stairs. "Oh…It's a fourteen-story building. Wonderful." I dolefully climb the stairs of tribulation.

My luck is bound to turn around, right? I think such thoughts to myself as a scale the long climb. Eventually I make it to the top and I open the door to salvation. When I light the cig and prepare to take a long drag, I notice someone standing beyond the edge of the railing. The surprise makes me drop the cig out of my mouth and I run over there.

"It's not worth it!" That was the first thing that came out of my mouth. I can't believe that. Usually I would say something along the lines of, _dude, what are you doing_, but I guess the stress has gotten to me. The suicidal idiot then turns to me with a gun in his hand and he points it to me in shock.

The rational thing to do would to remove the gun from the head of person trying to save your life. Too bad he isn't being rational and puts his finger on the trigger. Is this it? My final trial in this conga line of misfortune?! This calamity won't stop me from relaxing.

"W-who are you!"

I could have said many things that would have been normal.

"Your hero."

It's truly unfortunate that I'm not the patron saint of normality when I went and said something like that. His mouth dropped in shock and he almost lost his grip on the gun, then he grips it once more with extra fervor pointing it at me with both hands with anger in his eyes.

"Are you mocking me too?!" Oh, I think I can piece together his reason for suicide. Something along the lines of bullying and his parents most likely not believing him or helping him out about it. He looks to be around the age of a high school student as well.

"Just put the gun down and we can talk this out." I've been bullied before, so I can probably use my experience to help him out through this. Anything will do, as long as I can stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life.

"Stay away!" Or he can get even more aggravated and nearly back of the edge. Wait, what was your game plan for suicide? You have a gun in one hand, but you look like you're about to jump off the roof as your method of suicide. Are you an idiot?!

"Listen, I'm not going to do anything, alright? Let's just calm down and talk." He seems to consider my proposition for a moment. "I'm sure your parents are very worried, so please don't do this." Then his gun once again raises itself at me with anger in his eyes. What did I do this time? Explain to me how the hell I fucked this up?

"My parents are dead!" I didn't want you to actually explain it to me?! Gotta think of something quick to take his mind off his dead parents. Uh…

"If you think long and hard, then I'm sure you'll have something worth living for." That sounded so half-assed, that even I'm depressed. Wait! I'll just steal a line that I know that will help him. Don't fail me now brain.

"If you have time to think of a beautiful end, then why not use that time to live beautifully until the end? You might think you'll be happy when you die, but I guarantee that you'll be even happier once you see the missed opportunities of life." I think that got through to him. He puts the gun down and starts thinking to himself.

"Y-yeah…maybe you're right." That's good. I make my way over to him to give him a hand over the railing. Thankfully, he accepts my help.

"Come on, kid. Don't do something so stupid like suicide again. There are definitely people in the world that care about you, and if you think there aren't, then you're not looking hard enough." A lesson that I learned before it was too late. In all honesty this string of bad luck, wasn't all that bad now that I look back on it. Even though my own day was pretty shitty, I managed to save someone's life. Just that is enough to put a smile on my face.

He looks to me with tears running down his eyes. Don't do this to me, I'm not good with emotional moments.

"Thank you." Stop crying. If people start crying around me, t-then I'll cry. He looks at my face right before I start sobbing.

"Why are you crying?!" I try to rub the tears out of my face, but it's all useless. I've always had this problem of crying, when others start crying around me. It's why I never go to funerals.

"I'm not crying! Anyways, go home kid. Go talk to your loved ones and tell them what happened. Then, you will see proof of the love around you. Go forth and seek happiness young one!" I try to put on airs of a wise man, but my dignity is dashed through the tears marring my face. The kid looks like he wants to laugh.

That's good. Someone who can laugh after desiring the death of themselves should be in a better headspace. He waves goodbye to me after thanking me one last time. There! That's my one good deed for the day. Now will this plague of bad luck stop infesting me?

Oh, I never asked why he wanted to commit suicide. Guess it doesn't matter anymore. I finally open the box of nirvana and grab the stick of divinity. I light it and inhale the fumes of toxicity that isn't of my city. I feel so much better now, but I really need to lay off these terrible cancer lures for good.

Looking over at the edge of the railing makes me realize how messed up that kid's body would have been if he chose to go through with suicide. Heh. I defeated my bad luck mostly unscathed! Show me my reward world. I turn around begin walking back, but then I slip.

"Wha—" I'm falling…? I can't believe that this shit is happening. I'm definitely going to die, but a part of me really doesn't want to accept this. I don't want to die. Ah well.

…

"_Your desire has been granted."_

"Guess I'm dead!" I say that with a shaky grin on my face as gravity takes hold of me. I lose consciousness before I hit the ground.

"Uh…?" I start opening my eyes. What just happened? I got groceries then I ran into a suicidal kid, and then…! My eyes open wide in shock. Didn't I die?

I'm pretty sure I died. My control over my motor movements start coming back, but my body feels a bit weird. I try to stand up with difficulty due to dizziness and confusion. My gray eyes analyze everything around me.

"Am I in an alleyway?" How did I end up here? Alright, first things first. I need to get out of this alleyway and find out exactly where am I. After that, I need to head home and get some proper rest. I leave the alleyway with a purpose and then confusion takes hold of my thoughts.

I am definitely not in Kansas anymore. I duck back in the alleyway with that thought and start thinking furiously. In order to find some sense of balance I sit down next to a wall. I pinch myself to ascertain if this is a dream or not.

"That's not normal." On the outside my face is serene like the Buddha, but on the inside, I'm panicking like a headless chicken. The reason? My fucking cheek just stretched like rubber! I know I didn't eat a devil fruit, so why am I stretching! This has to be some weird fever dream or a detailed hallucination.

"It's definitely not…" I let out a deep sigh and leave the alleyway. At least I still have my deep red hoodie unscathed.

"Am I in Asia?" I mutter that to myself as I look at the chicken scratch on buildings. What's even more disorienting is that when I read it, it translates itself to me in English. It feels extremely odd and off-putting.

This isn't a logical outcome, so let's think irrationally. I either got warped to the other side of the world, or into another world. Both results suck, but one is definitely worse than the other. Might as well see if I can understand a person vocally and talk to them.

"Hey, do you know where I am?" He looks at me, but not in confusion, so that's a plus. He gives me a neutral stare and responds.

"Oh, you're in Q-City." He walks off and leaves while in ignorance of my thoughts spiraling into lunacy. Really? You're just going to tell me I'm in the world of One Punch Man and just leave me?!

Let's walk and think for a second. Q-City from what I remember, has a very high rate of monster attacks, but Watchdog Man is guarding is extremely well. So, there shouldn't be anything to worry about? Except there is!

Where the hell am I going to sleep or get something to eat?!

"Such misfortune…" I really didn't want to say it, but it really describes my situation right now. I'm up shit's creek without a paddle, the boat's on fire, I'm on fire, and the creek is frozen. I can work with this.

With a newfound determination to find a nice cozy place I head back into the alleyway, just to find a stickman. I shit you not, it's a fucking stickman. It turns around and looks at me.

"Do you also make fun of people with no talent? I tried so hard to be a Manga Artist, but all I could draw were stick figures. People don't know the allure of stick figures. I'll destroy Shonen Jump!" This…thing starts ranting and raving. Do I hate stick figures?

"How dare you think such a thing! Stick figures gave me life when I was a child. I always saw those stick animations and were amazed by how cool they were." That was the majority of my childhood back then. Flash animations on Newgrounds and Stick animation. Ah...the memories.

I go all out by overwhelming him with my passion of stick animation. Then it starts crying.

"Y-you do understand. Stick animation brings joy and life to all kids who start out with no talent." I nod my head. Yes. I understand all too well the struggle of not being able to draw well. I also start crying with him.

"There's nothing wrong with stick figures!" I declare with fortitude.

But! Those who perfect that single art of stick animation deserved to be admired.

"So, why do you want to destroy Shonen Jump anyways?"

"They won't accept my manuscript of stick figures! It's monstrous!" The only monster I see here is you. A monster of idiocy that is!

"Of course they won't accept it. Stick figures aren't an applicable style of drawing for Mangas. How long have you been trying to improve to a different style of art?" I don't want to aggravate the monster.

"One week!" He says such a stupid statement with pride. Never mind, I never should have sympathized with a monster. They're either idiots or sociopaths.

"A week is not enough to improve, you know? Don't blame it on talent either. You have to try extremely hard to improve and once you devote your passion into something you truly love, then your hard work will pay off."

"R-really? Even though my art's amazing enough, they still won't accept it?!" Where did you get that idea?

"Your art isn't that amazing. Even a child could do a stick figure. It's only stick animation that takes skill. What you're doing is extremely mediocre, so you have to practice until you become an expert artist." I say this as a way to offer counsel but he doesn't hear me.

"You're just like everyone else! I-I'll kill you!" Excuse me?

"Die!" He aims his left stick arm at me in a punching motion. He doesn't have a fist, but a nub. I was just too shocked that he just started attacking me to move out of the way.

He punches my head and my vision starts getting farther and farther. And farther and farther and…what's going on?!

"W-what are you?!" My sight comes flying back to normal. That was actually my head flying back like a rubber band and coming back to slam the stick figure in the head. He was completely knocked back into a wall. The force of the impact left an indent of the body in it.

"Ha. Hahaha…" I start giggling, then I devolve into full-blown laughter. When I stretched my cheek back then, that's what it was? I guess there is a light at the end of the tunnel after all. If I leave this guy alone, he will definitely start killing innocents.

I stop laughing and focus my grey eyes on the monster.

"What am I? I'm a rubberman." I punctuate the end by throwing my arm back and praying it works how Luffy did it. My prayers paid off and I call the name of the attack. The stickman is still wobbly from the earlier blow.

"**Gum-Gum: Pistol!**" The fist I threw back to the exit of the alleyway comes flying back and nails the stick man in the center. The force of the punch blows a hole through him and the wall behind him. He then dissipates into nothing but shadows. I nearly threw myself forward from the force as well, which causes me to sober up and realize what I just did.

"I'm… a _rubberman_. I'm in the world of One Punch Man, and I killed something." I don't feel bad at all for killing even a person that used to be human. That was a monster now that just wanted to just kill.

I look up into the sky and proclaim my despair.

"Such misfortune!"

After meandering about in the alleyway for around ten, I finally find the resolve to exit this grimy place and explore the city. I try to compare this city and the cities back home.

"This place really is amazing." I say with a wonderous tone. It's amazing and in more ways than one. It feels so clean! The weather is pretty nice as well. No wait, don't think that! If I think that, then I'll start wanting to stay here.

There are a lot of genius scientists in this world. I wonder if any of them know the field of dimensional travel. As I absentmindedly brainstorm ways of going back home, I wander over to Watchdog Plaza.

"Woah." Really all I can say at the moment. When all you can see is a man dressed in a fursuit sitting on top of a mountain of monster corpses, there's really nothing else to say. I recall this guy being one of the stronger S-Class Heroes of the Association, but seeing it in person shows it.

I turn to see another monster charge at him, but the hero moves in a blur of speed and the monster is sliced and diced into pieces. That guy just got blitzed.

Now I understand how Garou was toyed with by this guy. He's just too fast.

"Isn't Watchdog Man just the coolest!" What?

"You talking to me?" I point to myself in confusion.

"Yeah, I know you're new to the city. You just have that feel." Really? I wonder if anyone else noticed. That doesn't seem like something a random person should pick up on.

"He's pretty awesome. He's probably the best protector of all S-Class." Most of the people in that class have some issues, but Watchdog Man looks super zen. The other guy just nods in agreement. There are a lot of people taking pictures of him sitting on the mountain of corpses. Guess he has a lot of popularity. Time to walk back to my temporary home.

This alleyway is pretty nice. It's dark, cozy, and most of all warm. People even dump their unfinished food here. The best part is when the wrapper protects it from the rest of the garbage.

While I gorge myself on a half-eaten burger I begin thinking of where I should go.

"There's always Z-City. Saitama should be chilling there." Did canon even start already? The only way to check is to go to Z-City. I have no money to catch a ride so…

"Time to walk!" I say to myself with a large bag on my back. I'm going to walk from here to Z-City with a bunch of good in the bag. This should be good training to survive in this crazy world as well. I always liked walking and hiking. It's a nice way to relax. Taking in a deep breath and looking at the wonderful sky. Who couldn't enjoy such a wonderful thing!

Now I like walking as much as the next guy, but walking for around three days and ending up at S-City was not on my list. I did do some proper exercise on the way, enough to actually tire me out sometimes, so it wasn't all bad. What I actually forgot to get though was a map. Now I'm out of food and I need a shower.

I look around the new city to find a new alleyway.

"Ah. There's one." When I walk into the alleyway and drop my bag, I see a monster looking at me. This ugly thing looks like a rhino mated with a microwave.

"Holy shit!" As if it could sense my thoughts it immediately charged at me without even speaking. I grab it by the horn with both hands and try to push it back. "Lighter than I thought…" I let one hand free and stretch it back. Time to try a different move.

"**Gum-Gum: Bullet!**" The strike breaks its horn and send it back. "Wasn't enough huh? Then…how about this!" Being a rubberman is cooler than I thought. I think that as I stretch both arms back for one of my favorite moves.

"**Gum-Gum: Bazooka!**" The impact shatters the rhino-microwave hybrid's skull to pieces. I look at the bloody monster's remains desecrating my new temporary shelter. All i can do is let out a sigh of irritation.

"Is this going to be a habit?" Seriously. I walk into one alleyway, a stickman. I walk into a second alleyway, a rhino.

/'/'/

The days being in this world almost feels like a dream. Then I feel hunger pangs every now and then and realize that this has become my new reality. What has kept me upbeat is the fact that this world is modern like my own and that I have the strength to protect myself.

Instead of going straight to Z-City after finding a map, I decided to stay here and train my abilities. I'm not about to use Gear Second or Third and screw up my body because it can't handle it yet. Instead of doing fitness and exercise, I should probably just wander around and get into more fights.

I wonder if I have the potential to use Haki? That's going on the mental list. I look up and stretch my arms to reach the top of the building. I pull myself up and shoot up higher than expected.

"Oh shit!" Luckily, I don't take fall damage. At least not as much as other people do. From what I remember, the Gum-Gum fruit didn't completely nullify blunt damage, only offered high resistance. I look around the city for anything to do or monsters to fight.

"Maybe I should go into the park instead of standing up here..." With that thought, I see a figure glowing green blazing across the sky at ridiculous speeds. Who the hell was that!

"Definitely going down to the park." Jumping down from here allows me to feel the winds on my face. It feels so nice that i almost close my eyes and forget that I'm free falling. I manage to catch myself and land on all fours like a cat. "That was close...can't afford to be reckless like that."

The manga did this place justice for sure. This park is extremely huge. The Elder Centipede was pretty big, but if this park can hold a creature like that, then who knows what else could be hiding in here.

"But still, there are a lot of couples here." I wish them happiness, but i also want to wish them misery. I can feel the duality of man consuming me...

Enough of that. Time to find some Mysterious Beings and beat them into submission. I go deeper into the park while whistling.

Wonder what I'll find.


	2. Party Park of Doom

Chapter 2

I actually underestimated the sheer size of this park. If there wasn't a trail in here, I would think that I was actually in a forest. It's a very calming place with luscious trees everywhere. Greenery of this scale doesn't exist back home. It's enough to make me sad.

While I explore this forest-like park I keep my objective in mind. I need to search for monsters in this place. With an area as large as this, there are bound to be hidden monsters somewhere.

I casually walk around the forest for a bit, then I run into someone unexpected. "Is that…?" There is a man practicing with a blade in dark ninja garbs. He has purple markings under his eyes.

He also turns to my direction and looks questioningly at me. I tilt my head in confusion while I think furiously to myself about how misfortunate I am to run into this extreme guy.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The very familiar person questions me with a serious look on his face. What do you mean what am I doing here? This is a park where anyone can wander.

"Isn't think a public zone? I was just walking around and I wandered over here." I must have zoned out while I was walking to have run into Speed O' Sound Sonic.

"Leave. I'm using this spot for training." Well I don't want to aggravate him. I smile and wave goodbye.

"See you later." We are definitely going to meet in the future. I can feel it in my rubbery bones. I walk towards the opposite direction and I end up going into a populated spot of the park.

I must have really wandered out there to have run into that lunatic ninja. Aren't monsters supposed to be a frequent thing? Saitama runs into them like every day. I must not be in their spawn points. Let's follow the trail deeper in.

I take care to mentally mark the place where Sonic was, and avoid it as best as possible. "Come on out monsters wherever you are…" Might as well start climbing the trees up.

I stretch my arm towards a branch and let momentum pull me up. This should give me a higher view of any interesting things going on. Let's see…

I see kids playing around with parents watching over them, some random guy with a pompadour swinging a bat for practice…he kind of looks familiar. There aren't any monsters at all today. Might as well take a gander at the guy who tickles my senses.

I jump off the tree and jog up to him while he's in mid-swing. He notices me and turns towards me with an almost irritated look plastered on his face. I give a disarming smile towards him.

"I saw you were practicing pretty hard. You play baseball?" If I remember correctly, this guy is Metal Bat.

"Nah, I'm in the Hero Association. Just practicing swings." His brusque words seem to give off the air that he isn't in the mood for talking. I don't have anything better to do, so I just watch him swinging.

It starts getting faster and stronger. Eventually the pressure of the swings starts blasting up grass. I call out to him.

"Hey, if you don't stop you may mess up that bat." Surprisingly, he listened to me and stopped swinging so hard. He took a look at his bat to make sure it was still in prime condition. Eventually he opens up a conversation.

"So, what are ya doing here?" Should I tell him I'm searching for something fun to do to take my mind off my displacement?

"I was resting on top of a tree branch and noticed you practicing hard out here. What rank are you in the Hero Association?" This could help me understand where I am in the timeline.

"Only a C-rank." He doesn't sound like he cares too much about his current rank.

"Say…why did you join the Hero Association?" There's a lot of backstory that I don't know about the many characters in this series.

"And why should I tell you?" Did I touch a personal nerve there?

"Well, you don't have to, but I am a bit curious. I won't tell anyone else if that's the problem." He seems to take a moment to contemplate the pros and cons of telling me.

"It's cause of my sister." So it was Zenko! I had a feeling that was it. "Parents aren't there, so I have to take care of her myself. Killing monsters was the easiest way to earn money." I nod my head. Being a part of the Hero Association is probably an easy paying job, but it does carry a high risk.

"I understand. You don't have to say anything else." I'm no good with socializing at all. "So…wanna be friends?" That sounded so cringey that I just want to crawl in a hole and die.

"What?" Even he was baffled by that.

"Well, you told me your backstory and you seem to tolerate me. Wouldn't that make us friends?" I may have to tell him a bit of my backstory though.

"What's your story?" As I thought. An eye for an eye I guess.

"I'm a rubberman." I show him my cheek stretching to impossible proportions for a normal human being. His jaw nearly drops to the ground in shock.

"How?"

"Surprising isn't it? As for how…I don't know! This is just the way my body is. Pretty interesting, right? I can stretch a lot and it allows me to fit a whole bunch in my mouth." I couldn't resist the joke. He acknowledges it with a twitch of his lips.

"Name's Bad." Ah, he gave me his name. That means he accepts me.

"I'm Wil." I was about to say my last name, but then I realized that this world doesn't have surnames. It's really weird, but just another difference in culture.

"How old are you?" Wanting to know my age, are you? I am older than I look though.

"I'm sitting right at the legal drinking age of twenty. What about you?

"I'm sixteen." What?! He's that young? I forgot that this guy was just a high schooler. He was seventeen when canon hits, so that means that I'm a year behind. He's definitely a case of younger than they actually look.

We casually chat for a bit. I told him about my worse day ever minus the dying part. He had a good laugh at my expense, so I need to dig up a dirty secret of his.

Oh…I'm not wearing glasses at the moment, so why is my vision perfectly fine? I can't believe I didn't notice this earlier. While I was deep in thought about personal changes to my body, Bad clapped his hands in front of my face.

"Woah!" I nearly fall backwards from the shock. "What was that for?"

"You went all silent and started staring into nothing. You do that often?" I do have a bad habit of spacing out, but it's even worse with me being thrown into this crazy world. I'd prefer to go back home obviously.

After leaving this place I gotta go to D-City. From there I can enter Z-City and hopefully meet Saitama. If I stay around the protagonist, I may run into some dimensional shenanigans.

"Yer doing it again." Ah. Whoops?

"My bad. I just have some heavy things to think about. I'll see you later." I walk off after he starts up his practice swings again. All of a sudden…there's a cacophony of roars sounding out in the park.

"This is an announcement from the Hero Association. There are multiple Tiger-Level threats and Demon-level threats. Please evacuate immediately." From where did these multiple monsters come from?! I was looking for them all day!

I look over to Bad as he takes up his bat and run towards the roars and screams. I guess I have to go over there as well. I don't want to be the type of person to let others die.

I already see Bad swinging on some monsters. I narrow my eyes as I see a gorilla creature walk towards me. It brings down its left arm for a hammer blow, which I dodge to the left and retaliate with a heavy right cross of my own. After I knock it back I use my rubber abilities once more.

"**Gum-Gum: Stamp!**" I blow it away into more monsters. Bad turns around when he gets an opportunity and sees my leg outstretched and the monster knocked away by it. I give him a nod, then he gets right back into the fight.

There's a bunch of them charging me at once. This is the perfect opportunity to use a different move. I ready both of my arms.

"**Gum-Gum: Gatling Gun!**" I let loose a barrage of punches at the horde of monsters. It starts pushing them back with heavy blows and some even die from the Gatling. The ones that survived are left up to Metal Bat. I stretch my arm back to let loose another blow, but then it's interrupted by people's screams.

I stretch it back immediately and begin running towards that direction. "I'll leave this place to you Bad!"

/'/'/

"I'll leave this place to you Bad!" Bad hears Wil say that as he runs deeper into the park. He wanted to go to that source of screams as well, but he's being held up by the monsters trying to suffocate him.

"Come on you ugly bastards!" His words enrage the Mysterious Beings, and at once they charge. "I'll show you my fighting spirit!" With those words, Bad rushes towards them with bat in hand.

The pressure of his swings uproot grass and sends monsters' broken brodies flying everywhere. Each swing he unleashes results in the death of a monster. He's powered by his fighting spirit and the need to get back alive to his sister.

When both parties back off from each other, a large tree monster in the back sends its roots into the bodies of the remaining monsters. "Go my pretties." With an unnerving whisper that carries itself to Bad's ears, the monsters become empowered.

"So, you're the Demon-Level. Bring it on!"

At the same time this is occurring, Sonic is dealing with a trial of his own.

"Just where did this flood of monsters come from. It doesn't matter, just more targets to test my abilities on!" With a disturbing grin, he leaps above the horde of monsters and begins tossing exploding shuriken.

"**Hail of Carnage!**" Some of the monsters wise up to the ninja's tactic and spread out to avoid damage. The ones that didn't had their bodies torn to pieces.

"So, you're the ones that survived. That means you're all stronger, right?" Sonic brings out his ninjato and vanishes from the spot. One of the monsters surrounding the spot fell to the ground with a cut in its neck.

Another fell to the ground. Then another until they all fell to the ground dead. Sonic reappears at the same spot with a disappointed look in his face. He failed to notice another reptilian monster behind him. He turned at the last second only to get a tail slammed in his gut.

He rolls with the impact and immediately gets in a lowered stance. "So, you must be the big boss. Perfect! I'll use you as a benchmark for how strong I've become! **Full Frontal Attack.**"

Wil is running towards the screams with a worried look on his face. He needs to hurry to save everyone in danger. He sees extra monsters surrounding civilians.

"Everyone duck!" The people listened to him as he prepared a kick.

"**Gum-Gum: Whip!**" The outstretched leg lengthens and catches all the monsters around everyone. They all get sent flying away into trees and benches. The outstretched leg comes back like a rubber band.

"That was easy." Wil puts his hands in his hoodie's pockets as he scours the damaged park. A smirk is plastered on his face as he realizes how weak some of the monsters are.

"You guys should get out of here. That's probably not the last of them. Just leave everything to me." He says that with a carefree smile. He then hears something rolling around. A spiked armadillo monster charges him and he dodges.

He lands both feet on the ground with hands ready to fight what attacked him. He sees the armadillo unravel itself and notices the large size of it.

"You ruined everything! Our dreams of conquering the humans and removing them from the park. Everything's ruined because of you! I will kill every last human! The plan was so simple. It was…" He listens to the monster ranting and raving about failed plans and thinks that he's had enough.

"SHUT UP!" Wil thought that he had enough and leaped at the armadillo to kick it in the head. The attack landed and knocked the armadillo back a few inches. "I don't want to hear about any plans that you can't sum up in about twenty words or less! Let's just finish up this joke of a battle."

The monster gets enraged and opens its mouth. It turns towards the fleeing civilians and launches a high-speed spike out of its mouth. Wil barely noticed the swift projectile and tries to stop it from killing anyone.

He manages to get in the way of the projectile and a child. There was a piercing and ripping noise as the spike embedded itself through Wil's body.

A spray of blood and a scream.

Bad is getting worn down by the upgraded monsters. If before they were Tiger-Level, then they are now Demon-Level. Including the tree monster in the back, there are nine Mysterious Beings on the same level surrounding him. He's bleeding nearly everywhere.

"I don't care what rank you freaks are! Come and get it!" His fighting spirit only increases as his blows get faster and heavier. His bat starts getting dented the longer his fights.

"Kehehe…is that all you have? Us monsters will root out everything!" Bad seems to be getting enraged by something.

"Was…that a pun? Don't underestimate me!" Bad's aura starts unleashing a pressure on the monsters. He lowers himself in a stance with the bat up to his shoulder pointing forward.

"I'm gonna wipe all you out. **Killin' Moves Fightin' Spirit: Savage Tornado!**" He starts spinning wildly with his metal bat with a force strong enough to create a mini tornado. Each blow he lands with his bat explodes the monster to pieces. Once he finishes, he sees the tree monster start to flee underground.

"Oh no you don't!" He leaps straight into the air and brings the bat down in a large crash. His strongest slam yet folds the tree monster in on itself as it breaks the ground around him.

"Is that all?" He casually walks away with a nearly broken bat from the completely totaled park. He then notices a group of people running away from deeper inside the park.

"Must be where Wil is." He shows an uncharacteristic trace of worry on his face when he thinks about him fighting.

"He'll be fine. He's strong." He walks over to where the people were fleeing and enters deeper inside the park.

"This guy is fast!" Sonic is barely evading the reptilian's claws and tail. It's trying to rip the person in front of it apart. It's moving extremely fast unimpeded by the wind.

"Wait…wind resistance has no effect on it." Sonic has a smirk on his face. The reptile isn't fast, it's just moving with no forces acting upon it. He ducks below the monster's attempt to grab him and impale its foot to the ground. He leaps up into the air.

"**Wind Blade Kick!**" He smacks his foot into the lizard right in the face as it gets sent flying. The force of the kick causes the blade to rip through the lizard's foot as it gets knocked away even further than predicted because of a lack of air resistance. The pain has it distracted.

Sonic grabs his ninjato as the creature attempts to push itself back up. He jumps on it and spears his blade right through the Mysterious Being's head spraying blood and brain matter everywhere. Contrasting that with the smile on his face makes for an eerie backdrop.

"I really am the strongest!" He wipes the blood of the blade and puts it back in his scabbard.

"What's all the commotion about?" He noticed people running initially because of a monster swarm, but then he sees a smaller group of people retreating from further in the park. He sprints over there to test himself against what seems to be another monster.

/'/'/

The child starts screaming when he sees me being pierced by a needle. It hurts. It hurts a lot…but…

"Get out of here kid!" I yell to make him stop crying. One of the adults comes back and picks him up. That's good. Now I can destroy this monster.

"How do you like that?! Protecting another one of your disgusting own only to get hurt because of it. You humans only know how to harm each other. They even run away when their hero is in danger." I don't want to listen to your damned taunts…!

"How dare you…" It stops laughing and looks at me.

"Hm?"

"How dare you ruin my favorite hoodie!" I'm quite pissed off at the moment. Because of my rage I yanked out the needle with my left hand from my body and it causes more blood to spurt out. I start gripping it hard enough that it snaps. The monster seems to be shocked at my outburst.

"That's what's pissing you off?!" The lizard shouts at me in aggravation. You don't understand the saying, 'one man's trash is another man's treasure. But it's no man, only a disgusting monster.

"That was the only special thing I have from home!" I growl at him. That hoodie was something bought for me by my grandfather and this little shit thinks he can get away with tearing it?

I throw my left fist forward and watch it stretch towards the armadillo's face. The perfect whack sound when it landed was extremely cathartic, but I'm not done yet. After it knocks itself into a tree I get ready to charge it…only to falter in my step.

"What?!" My vision starts getting blurry. What's happening. I look at the bleeding monster who starts laughing as it gets up. Damnit what's happening to my body? This isn't going to stop me. I start struggling to right myself, but I keep wobbling and my vision starts fading in and out.

"I see the neurotoxin has finally taken effect. You're going to die! Every single human here is going to die and there's nothing you can do about it!" He bellows this at me with bloodshot eyes.

Neurotoxin? I'm going to die? I don't think so. I refuse to die. I'm not going to die to something like you. I'm not going to accept something like this!

All of a sudden clarity returns to me. I know what to do now. I take a deep breath as I see the armadillo roll in a ball and start spinning in place like a certain blue hedgehog. Come to me and meet your end. I put a bloodthirsty grin on my face.

"You think that's enough to kill me?!" I need a strong enough force to break through the spiked shell and kill it. I know what move to use. I stretch my left arm back and make it spin in a circle from the elbow. I keep spinning it for a while then the armadillo stops spinning in place and attempts to blitz me.

Thankfully I can still track its movements. Spin, spin, spinning~ Tusk Act IV! I let my fist fly.

"**Gum-Gum: Flail!**" All the built-up momentum buries itself into the armadillo's shell. It blasts through the spiked shell and sends its broken body flying straight through the trees. My arm snaps back and the force sends my weakened body flat on my ass.

"Neurotoxin...? Don't make me laugh. If that was actually neurotoxin I would have been dead already. Nothing but a worthless bluff. Just need to stand up and, oh the bleeding stopped." How surprising. Too bad that my hoodie got messed up. What am I going to do?

My hand is pretty messed up though. Punching through spikes is bound to damage it greatly. It'll eventually heal though. I push myself up with my healthy right hand. I then notice the bushes start rustling.

"Where's the monster!" I see a crazy ninja leap out with frightening eyes. It looks like he's going to eat me alive. How intense.

"Ah, I dealt with it. That's not a problem is it…?" His eyes return to normal then he side-eyes me with a condescending look in his eyes.

"You took down a monster? You don't look like much." I then gesture to my wounded left hand and my flank with offended noises. He's about to say something else when someone else comes through the bushes.

Oh, it's Bad. He looks at me and my injuries in question.

"Hey Bad. I got a little roughed up by the monster, but It's all fine now." He nods to me, then looks in question to Sonic.

"Who're you?" He says that quite rudely.

"Speed-O'-Sound Sonic." No matter how many times I hear it, I can only think how stupid that name is. It's still not as bad as Flashy Flash though. Now that I look at it…he's been fighting monsters too.

"Hey Sonic, what happened there?" I point to a gash on his stomach trying to suppress my laughter. Judging by his reddening face, my attempts are failing.

"You're trying to call me weak, but what happened there, huh? Come on Soooonic, tell the class what happened Soooonic. I bet you tripped, right. That was it, right? Or, don't tell me, you actually got hit by a monster?" Taunting people is fun. Bad seems to be smirking at this exchange. Putting the strong emphasis on his name nearly tilts him into attacking me.

"At least I didn't get knocked around by a pathetic monster." That asshole was at least a low Demon-Level threat. He had projectiles and an extremely hard shell. At least it traded all of its speed for defense, so I could hit it.

"Sheesh, so all of us took out the monsters. Might as well call the Hero Association." Sonic looks at Bad with disdain.

"You're part of the Hero Association? How revolting. They're filled with nothing but weaklings and fakes. Do what you want; however, you!" Sonic points to me.

"Me?" I point to myself with confusion.

"It seems you have some power by taking out some monsters. I will be challenging you later. Return here tomorrow at the same time!" He immediately vanishes in a gust of wind from the spot. You challenge me? I didn't agree to this! After that little fiasco, Bad finishes up reporting everything that happened on his phone.

He hangs up with a dumbfounded look on his face. I notice it and call him out on it.

"What is it?"

"I'm being called in by the Hero Association for some reason." Oh, is this the part where he gets promoted?

"I bet you a full course meal that you're getting promoted." He looks at me with a gloating look in his face.

"Really? I'm the best at never ranking up. I'll take you up on that bet and win it easily." That's not something you should take pride in you idiot. Ah, whatever. I know I'm right and I'll get a nice meal for the first time in this world.

I send him a knowing look. "I'll be waiting at the first bench when you enter the park. Prepare to feed me." He waves behind himself to me as he walks off. Might as well go to the bench and sit down. I could use the temporary rest.

When I reach the bench, I sit down and lean my head back. "I guess I could take a nap." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The moment I breathe out is when I clock out.

"Huh…?" I wake up then the bench gets kicked over. Ow. It didn't really hurt my body, but my feelings are a different matter.

"Who did that?!" I stand up and look at the perpetrator…who's Bad. "Oh, it's you. Did you get promoted?" I say that with a smug grin on my face. Judging by the already annoyed face getting even more irritated I'm right.

"Yeah, come on already. I always keep my promises." He immediately walks off without checking if I'm following him. I nearly trip over myself to catch up with him.

"H-hey wait up!" I catch up with him relatively quickly. I wonder where I'm going to eat. I can just imagine the food I can engorge myself on. A wonderful twenty-two-ounce steak and a side of fries. With a nice sprite on the side, it makes a perfect meal! I chuckle to myself, which unnerve Bad.

"Oh yeah, I never asked what your hero name was." I know it's Metal Bat, but I've gotta keep up appearances.

"It's Metal Bat. Yer not gonna get anything too expensive. Just a nice homecooked meal." All I can here is the sound of my dreams shattering.

"What…? Wait, you can cook?!" He starts getting annoyed at me.

"It's not me who's cooking, and just what kinda person do you think I am?!" A delinquent, and you said it wrong! You're supposed to say, Who the hell do you think I am!

"You just thought I looked like a delinquent, didn't you?" He narrows his eyes at me. I feel so judged right now.

"I can't help it! You dress exactly like one. The pompadour and the school uniform. You are a textbook perfect delinquent badass character.

"A-ah, you think so?" He's pissing me off with that embarrassed pride.

"Don't take pride in that!" It's even more annoying that he actually chose to look like that. I thought he was going to bite my head off for saying what he looked like. Nope. It's just the style he chose.

"Anyways, who's cooking if it's not you. You better not say it's me. I don't take kindly to on-the-spot jokes like that." He grins at me with a strange pride.

"It's my little sister. She's the greatest little sister in the world." He rounds on me with blazing eyes as if to dare disagree with him. From what I recall, she was a pretty spunky girl who got in the way of Garou himself.

"I guess if it's you saying it then it must be true. I really hope she's not as crazy as you though…" I murmur that last part, but it seems that he heard me.

"What did you say about my sister?!" Is that you, Josuke?! In all honesty, I envy the bond he has with his sister. The only family that cared about me were my grandparents and they passed away. Best to focus on the good than drag myself down with the bad.

"I'm glad you have a nice bond with your sister. I had a brother, but we eventually just grew distant. Make sure you cherish that bond. That's all for Wil's Wednesday words of wisdom!" I puff up my chest in pride with that on-the-spot alliteration.

"You had me in the first half…" After that conversation is nothing more than meaningless small talk, but it's that small talk that people strive for in daily life. It's a very relaxing mood.

We finally make our way to a small apartment. He opens the door. This place seems pretty cozy. I start looking around like a curious child.

"I'm back Zenko." A little girl runs up to him and ignores me.

"Welcome back big brother! Who's this?" She just now noticing me…? I feel so neglected, I could die of loneliness.

"This guy helped me out, and I owe him some food." He then puts a cheerful smile on his face. Not a siscon, just a guy who loves his sister. Family love is so beautiful! Platonic relationships are the best!

"I also got a promotion, so It's time to celebrate!" That's a nice thumbs up guts pose you got there.

"Before we celebrate, you two need to clean up. You guys reek, and you're both injured? Get over here for some treatment." Bad's little sister drags us to a first aid kit. What a bossy child.

She starts bandaging up Bad first, then she moves to me. "So, what exactly are you to my brother?" An unholy gleam of trickery flashes in my eyes. Bad notices it with dread in his eyes and moves to stop me, but I quickly put my arm around his shoulders.

"Me and this guy here? We bled together on the battlefield. We're closer than lovers. Nothing can separate us, not even you!" I dramatically point at her. She seems shocked by my words.

My audacity seems to send Bad into frustrated choking noises. I quickly check to see if he's alright.

"Brother Bad! Are you alright? I'll give you brotherly CPR. Don't move and just stay there." I'm pretty good at acting if I say so myself. Too bad the person I was messing with didn't appreciate my talents.

He punched me straight in the face when I motioned myself to get closer to him. I'm a rubberman so that did jack shit though. All the two could see was a whimsical grin on my face.

"Yer askin' for it now!" Did I go too far?

"Ah, sorry. It was just a joke. I tried to lighten up the somber mood, you know?" I can tell Zenko doesn't like seeing her brother come home with injuries, but it's the only way for the two to survive.

After Zenko finished patching us up, she moved to make dinner. I might as well help her out. I stand up.

"Where're you going?" I look back at the one who questioned me.

"Helping your precious little sister with the meal. You might not be able to cook, but I definitely possess the talents to do so." He flinches at my point. Did I hit another sore spot? Man am I bad with talking to people…

Dinner has finally arrived to this table of three. It's a simple dinner of noodles, vegetables, and mushrooms. The two say their blessing and all three of us dig in. Of course, I don't say blessings because I'm a faithless American.

The sun is starting to set, so I should move on to the next city on my path to my final destination as soon as possible. That sounded extremely grim. Hopefully nothing too annoying will happen on my trip.

"Oh yeah, hey Bad!" He turns to me with a confused look. "What was your hero name again?" Can't remember if he actually did tell me or not.

"It's Metal Bat." What a fitting name. He should be called Spiral Delinquent though. That fighting spirit parallels with spiral power was not missed by me at all. I wonder what hero name I would be given. Hope it wouldn't be stupid like Caped Baldy.

"What Hero name do you think I would get? I would hope for something badass, like _The Recusant _or _Red!"_

"I don't even know the meaning of the first thing you said, and why Red?" I point to my deep-red jacket that I'm currently wearing. He just palms his face and murmurs something about idiots. I take offense to that good sir!

"It's not like it's any different from Metal Bat. It's just as obvious a name as Red." I think he's just know realizing how much effort actually goes into hero names. Which is to say, none at all. I notice Zenko from the side of my eye watching our back-and-forth with some interest. Might as well bring her into the conversation.

"Hey Good Sister."

"Good Sister?" Be amazed by the pun.

"Yeah, I mean Bad is the Bad Brother and you're the Good Sister." I give both siblings a thumbs up as one descends into repeating the pun to himself and the other calls us both stupid.

"Anyway, do you have any skill in sewing? It would be nice if you could repair this hoodie. It's extremely important to me." It's not like I'm asking her because she's a girl, but she is a girl. It's not sexism it's stereotyping!

"I can do it. This would pay you back for helping my brother." Whoops have to clear up a misconception.

"It's not like I did it for him. Wait let me rephrase that. It's not like I wanted you guys to owe me." Damn it! No matter which way I say it, I always come out sounding like a girl who can't admit that she has a crush on a boy. A typical Tsundere! I refuse to be classified as such. I have to remedy this misconception.

"No wait! I don't need to be repaid. Just think of this as me owing you!" I say it wth such seriousness that it disguises my relief at getting my point across.

"So you can do us a free favor in the future. You're a nice guy! Hey big bro say thank you to your friend!" Wait...did I just promise to do anything for them in the future? I screwed up!

"Hey, you got anywhere to stay?" Bad's speaks up for the first time in a while.

"Nah, I'm hoping to walk all the way to D-City." He looks at me with a weird look on his face.

"Can't you just take a train?" Believe me I tried, but they require the currency that I don't possess.

I look at him with the most heartbroken look I can put on and speak with a solemn sadness that I could never replicate again. "I'm broke…" He was dumbfounded and looked at me if I was an idiot. What? Are you going to think I'm bad with money now?

"Didn't you know that there are free trains that go much slower?"

Oh.

"Well you could always stay with us. I can roll out a futon, but this will be a second thing you owe us for." He got me. I begrudgingly agree to this demon as he grins at me with such condescending smugness. Just you wait, I'm going Riverdance all over your hospital room when you get your ass beat by Garou! All i have to do is wait a year.


	3. Fighting is Fun

Chapter 3

I helped clean up all the plates we used for dinner. It's late in the evening right now, but not late enough to sleep. Zenko already went to bed though. Something about piano recital early in the morning. Something's got me curious though…

"Hey Bad, why didn't you tell your sister what rank you got promoted to in the Hero Association?" It definitely would have made her day at least. Could there have been an underlying reason why he decided not to?

"She'd worry even more." Ah, I got it. He didn't do it because she think she would get all frantic about him being called in for tougher battles. But I can't let this go on. If he does this, then the trust between them will lessen then they will eventually grow distant. Just like what happened with my family.

"You should tell her. If you think such things about her, that means you don't have any trust in her. I know you don't really mean that, but think about the implications. Besides, if you ever wind up in life-threatening danger, I'll always be there to help you." He seems to digest my words a bit.

"I'll tell her later." He grudgingly accepts my proposal. That's good. Helping people feels so nice…how beautiful their family is! Oh, what about his unbreakable bat though?

"Let's stop talking about heavy topics and let's discuss your bat." I point towards that mangled bat of his destroyed beyond all recognition.

"Oh this? I usually get a new bat every time one breaks, but I asked for an unbreakable one when they called me in."

"Ehhh? You can do that? Just what rank did you get promoted to anyways?" Really surprising that he stayed at C-class then jumped straight to the top.

"S-Class." He says that with such doubt that even I feel baffled. He must think that this could be a dream. I flick him in the head to dissuade that notion.

"What was that for!" He rubs his head in indignation.

"To show you that you aren't dreaming." I say that with a confused tone. Could you not see my good will given to you? I wanted to help you face reality. Now, thank me for my generosity!

"Stop assuming things dumbass. It wasn't that, it was just me being surprised still. I don't know why they thought I was worthy for S-Class, but I don't care. As long as I make enough money to care for my sister." Such love…but!

"Stop flicking me on the head!" I flick him on the head with concern. This time he gets even angrier.

"Of course you're worthy for S-Class. I can tell how strong you are, and you're a pretty nice guy. You have the heart and the power, so who else could be worthier than you?" He seems to be shocked by my heartfelt declaration. Every word I said I meant and more. Really, all he needs is that unbreakable bat, then he will really carry the weight of his name.

"Anyways, it's getting kind of late now. Let's turn in for the night. By the way, sleeping with your sister is kind of creepy." I mock him as he walks the other room. He flips me off as he closes the door behind him. My mocking smile turns a bit more genuine as I think about the two siblings.

"I hope things go well for them." When I say that, I shut off the lights and roll inside my futon. This day was pretty chaotic. I went into a park and met Sonic and Bad as we destroyed all the monsters flooding the area. Then I talked with Bad and his sister as we celebrated his promotion. Time to go to sleep.

Something wet hit my face and shocked me straight away. I immediately sit up at hypersonic speed. "What was that?!" I then turn to the smirking pompadour-touting friend with an empty glass in his hand.

I turned to the smirking pompadour-touting douche to correct myself. I glare at him with the rage of a thousand college students who never get enough sleep.

"If you don't give me a good reason as to why you woke me up, then I will eat all of your food and unplug your fridge." The threat of taking away a man's food never fails. I wipe my face with the sheets and revitalize myself with willpower.

"One of the free trains leave in half an hour." Ah! I leap up and give Bad a manly embrace with no homoerotic subtext whatsoever. This is the scene that his sister comes in to see: me hugging her brother with gratitude in my eyes and Bad not resisting out of sheer shock.

In her eyes it's as if Bad is accepting my hug. She starts bugging out and chokes on air. Bad suddenly comes back to life and notices Zenko staring at this scene. He pushes me away with such great strength that my head hits the wall.

"I-it's not like that Zenko! Your big brother was just shocked is all." I look up and see Zenko give Bad a nice wide smile. His eyes light up with hope that he will be understood.

"It's okay big bro. I will always accept you no matter your preference." Kindness is a wonderful thing that brings happiness and hope to the world. Sometimes though, it can bring sheer despair. Zenko goes back into her bedroom for something.

"Isn't it nice to have such an understanding sister?" Those words make him turn to be with robotic motions. His stiff eyes turn demonically bloodshot. Is that fighting spirit or rage flowing off of him.

"You will join in on attending my sister's piano recital." His tone leaves no room for denial. I fear for my life if I even think about doing so. Guess I'll be staying in this city just a tiny bit longer. I nod my head in acceptance as if I wasn't being threatened.

"Of course! I'll be taking this as me using up on one of my favors though." I give him a thumbs up. It's been a while since I played the piano. I used to love it a lot. My greatest performance was playing the Moonlight Sonata without the music sheet. It's been nine years since then though….

"Fine." He grits his teeth. Come on, my hug shouldn't be that undesirable. Do you hate me that much…? Oh! Now I know why. I broke one of the bro codes. I put my hand on his shoulder and look into his eyes with deep emotion.

"No homo." I say these words to convey my reverence towards this holy phrase in the bro code. I emit such passion that it even gets through to Bad. Unfortunately, Zenko once again walked in on this scene of two men looking each other in the eyes.

"Love surpasses all boundaries!" We didn't notice her coming in fully dressed, but then she threw out these unholy words that destroyed my meaning. I turn on her ready to bombard her with righteous fury for desecrating the bro code, but then Bad collapsed.

"Let's…just go already." Is this going to be a running gag?

"Such misfortune." At least Zenko stitched up my jacket. It's like there weren't any whole made in the first place. I start hugging myself with fervor.

"You look extremely creepy. Never mind. I can't support you with my brother." She says that with such a deadpan delivery that I can even feel a sharp pain in my heart.

"I'm sorry, but I never liked your brother that way. He's more of a little brother to me if anything." He does remind me of my own little brother. Zenko's pitying eyes directed to Bad breaks him. I think I heard something snap.

He delivers a rage-filled yell to the heavens due to a misunderstanding of epic proportions.

After that little fiasco in the morning, Bad and I walk Zenko to her piano recital. I'm getting a little excited about hearing the sound of a piano once more. On our way there I'm thinking of original moves I can create with my rubber body.

I know! I can take inspiration from Majin Buu. The original one stuck his leg through the ground and it came rising up like an eruption. I need to practice some of the stuff he did. His body isn't exactly like rubber, so some of the stuff he can do won't be able to be repeated by me.

"She's been looking forward to this for a while. It's the first time I would have time to be going to her piano recital." He whispers to me. So that's why she's been super cheerful all morning. It would really suck if there was something to interrupt that. That wasn't an invitation, Murphy.

"I'm looking forward to this as well. I used to be very good at the piano, but then I stopped." I used to have such passion for it. Too bad I burnt myself out on it.

"Why'd you stop?" Zenko heard us talking and questioned me.

"Just did. No reason to be honest. I must have gotten bored with it, or I burnt all my passion away with it. I played for over a thousand people at one point and that was the peak of happiness for me. For me, there was no other reason to continue playing after that." Zenko looks at me with worry.

"Ah, but don't worry. You won't get bored with it or throw it all away because of a loss of passion. You will go much further than I ever could. I guarantee it!" I give her a smile and thumbs up. That seems to relieve her.

"So, you reached a high point and it all went downhill from there?" Bad cut in with his own thoughts.

"Yup." I've reconciled myself with it. That all-encompassing boredom when I try to play the piano again. I think I understand how Saitama must have felt when he became strong enough to end everything in a single hit.

I've tried multiple times to replay the piano. Tried so hard to reignite my passion for it, but the more I kept playing it, the emptier I felt. Now all that's left is the piano that my grandmother taught me to play getting dustier each year.

"Don't worry about me though. I've found something just as fun that playing the piano was." Oh yeah. This is really getting me pumped.

"What is it?" He seems a bit curious.

"Fighting. I never thought that fighting monsters could make my blood boil so much. The adrenaline, the excitement, the rush of battle. I don't want to say that I've become a battle maniac, but I may be getting close to it." He seems to want to talk about that, but then looks at his sister.

Oh yeah, she doesn't actually like fighting and the like. Whoops. Better not talk about that around her. It doesn't anymore because we are finally here. A nice large building for a piano recital. Zenko seems to be good enough for a small audience. The beginning of a smile tugs itself on my lips.

"Make sure you stay awake big bro!" She runs off in preparation. He seems to be getting excited.

"You don't seem like the cultured type to appreciate music." He twitches his brow in annoyance.

"I appreciate anything my sister does!" The performance seems to be almost ready to begin.

"If I didn't know you, I would be calling you a siscon." When he begins to round on me once again the lights shut off. They turn on the podium. All of a sudden Bad's phone goes off. People tell us to hush as he scrambles to get it.

"Really? Can't you get someone else to do it! Ugh. All right." First mission as an S-Class, so he can't deny it I'm guessing? Or they just don't have anyone else in the area.

"I'll go. Just point me to where the monsters are." I say with a dejected sigh. And I was looking forward to listening to the performance.

"Nah, I'll go. It's a mission for an S-Class anyway." Afraid I won't be strong enough for it?

"Don't worry I'll be fine. Besides I know that your sister has been looking forward to this for so long. Just leave the hero job to me while you watch your sister amaze you." He can't be in two places at once, so I'll do it for him.

"Thanks. It's at the park again." I just grin at him and leave the concert.

"Alright!" I push my fist into my open palm. I begin running towards the park once again. I've gotten faster it seems. Didn't Sonic challenge me there yesterday? I'm pretty sure it was the park at the same time. Hopefully he already forgot about. I don't even understand why he challenged me. Maybe, I provoked him too much?

I eventually make my way to the park to see it's already evacuated. I enter in deeper and already begin seeing someone monsters. Insects, lizards, wolves, and bears. No matter what kind of monster shows up, I'll be ready to take them all down!

"But first!" I take off my jacket to prevent it from being torn again. I tie it to the bench and dive into the mob of monsters. With my red jacket taken off and my white T-shirt revealed, I begin with a kick showcasing my blue pants.

"Let me show you the strength of the Red, White, and Blue!" We're all sons of the patriots now!

/'/'/

Zenko is wonderfully playing the piano putting Bad at peace. He's finally glad that he has a chance to attend one of his sister's recitals. He does feel a little guilt that his new friend, Wil, went on ahead to do his job, but the overwhelming relief that his sister can finally play with joy in her heart overpowers that guilt.

He is wondering how he's doing though.

"**Gum-Gum Rifle!**" A spiraling fist burrows itself in the carapace of a particularly large bug monster. It shreds the armor and its insides to mush. It's already been around one hour since the battle has begun. Wil is taking heavy breaths.

"It doesn't matter if I have a rubber body or not, I can still get tired. There's still more too. Good!" He puts a grin on his face and shoves his leg straight through the ground.

"**Gum-Gum Eruption!**" He tests out the new move he's been thinking off on an almost fully armored panther monster. The leg rises up beneath the monster, hitting it in its unarmored belly. It blows right through the monster sending it to the sky.

He then ducks beneath a pair of claws trying to rip his head from his body. He brings his leg back to him, and the recoil sends him even more backwards. He has the right angle to send his other foot through the monster.

After he sends it flying, he backflips into a proper stance once more, ready to take on the unending group of monsters once more. He seems to be getting better as the fight continues. His eyes are shining with excitement and teeth bared in a bloodthirsty grin.

He runs towards a strange looking mammal monster standing on its hind legs. It almost looks like a kangaroo. As he runs, his right arm seems to be staying behind as if time as stopped around it. "**Gum-Gum: Bullet.**" Once he reaches the monster the fist comes flying towards the monster's face too quickly for it to avoid.

It dies instantly from getting its skull smashed. Another monster similar to it throws a fast punch that barely gets avoided. Wil uses the pivot of the dodge to throw a jab disorienting the monster and a roundhouse punch towards the temple.

Behind that monster are even more monsters that prepare to dogpile the person mowing their numbers down.

"**Gum-Gum: Gatling Gun!**" Wil is having fun, but he's also thinking where all these monsters are coming from. All the monsters charging get slaughtered by the onslaught of fists pelting their bodies like boulders.

"I think that's all of them…" He breathes heavily in and out to get some oxygen in his lungs. That was a very tiring ordeal for him. Right when he's about to leave the park, an earthshattering roar destabilizes him. He narrows his eyes towards the deepest parts of the park.

"That must be the big boss, and that's probably the location from which all these monsters came from. Yesterday and today." Wil recklessly throws himself into an even harder battle. Just for fun.

"Woah!" He sees a tyrannical lizard, no, a wingless dragon with broken chains. It climbs out of an extremely large hole. It sets its yellow and red eyes on the person that dares to face it. Another roar no lesser than the previous one breaks out of its mouth. Wil prepares for another fight.

The lizard is the first to move. Its speed surprises Wil because of something its size moving so swiftly. He rolls to the left and then slides on his feet from the tail impacting a hastily set up guard. Wil's body goes flying through a tree.

"You're pretty tough. Let's see how much you can take before breaking. Wil throws his fist stretching backwards and lets it fly forward successfully hitting the creature's left eye. "**Gum-Gum: Pistol.**"

The creature shuts that eye with blood leaking from it. It then reopens it partially healed and continuing that process.

"A regenerator? Guess I have to destroy a vital organ then." The creature suddenly vanishes and reappears behind Wil while he tracks it. He dodges the deft lizard's claw while sending a stretched back kick. "**Stamp!**" The beast's scaly head breaks from the force and Wil uses the impact to push his body away from it.

"You're fast, but I can track you down." The beast's scales regenerate, and then it moves even faster. A claw matches a fist, and the fist pulls back bloody.

"Getting faster and harder? Don't tell me your actually an adapting type?!" Wil says that with a mixture of dread, determination, and excitement. "Then I just have to adapt as well! **Gum-Gum: Bazooka!**" Its high-speed movements cause it to lag a bit, which was what allowed it to take such a heavy blow towards the skull.

Rage kept the thing conscious enough to wind up for a tail swipe. The large sharp protrusion slapped Wil in the side and sent him up in the sky. His rubber body dulled the majority of the blow though. The tail he was swiped with forced him to flip forward repeatedly. Instead of stopping the spinning, he starts speeding it up. Wil uses the speed of the spinning to add strength to his next attack. He stretches his leg on the last spin.

"**Gum-Gum: TOMAHAWK!**" His fast spin combined with gravity pulling him down allowed him to land a devasting heel drop on the beast. The sheer force of the blow cracked the ground immensely, nearly busting a hole through it.

Wil lands on his feet dizzily.

"That was intense!" he says while letting out a deep breath and stretching. Even though he seems to be fine, he's actually extremely tired from all the fighting. His eyes narrow from seeing a red glow from the dust cloud. The beast unravels its new scaly body with a roar dispersing the cloud.

Its color changed from brown to silver. With sharp scales made of blades and bloody red eyes set on its target it keeps adapting to fight more and more and more. All it knows it battle and adaptation. That is the nature of the Tyrant. It is the embodiment of evolution.

"It doubled in size…. So, you're the one they needed Metal Bat for. A monster made for battle. Too bad I'm the one taking you down. Gum-Gum Twin Pistol!" He slams both fists into the beast's shoulders. It sends it back only a miniscule distance while Wil's fists come back shredded. Its body is made of nothing but blades.

Wil starts wincing in pain, but then his eyes widen at the much faster ground dragon rushing at him. He jumps over it only for a bladed tail to attempt to shred him. Wil stretches his arm towards a branch and pulls himself to it to avoid the tail.

"Well I just had a close shave with death." He murmurs to himself. He gets back on the ground. The monster's eyes shine once more as it slams its front legs on the ground. A miniature earthquake takes Wil off balance as the Tyrant opens its mouth as if to roar.

"Oh shit…!" The Tyrant fires a torrent of blades from its mouth and Wil crosses his arms to defend his vital points. Slice. Stab. Rip. Tear. After the roar of blades ceases, all that's left is the figure of Wil crucified to a large tree with his eyes barely open.

Further away from the scene of the battle is a certain Ninja feeling a lot of shaking deeper in the park. He decides to follow the trail of destroyed monsters and he finds a clearing with a battle going on.

He widens his eyes as he sees the person he challenged out of provocation battling a sand-colored oversized lizard. He sees the battle progress and his eyes become narrower when the monster starts adapting.

After what seems to be the end of the battle from the monster roaring a sea of blades, he considers jumping in to destroy the monster. Not to save the other person or anything. Just because it's being a loud nuisance. Then he looks over at the other combatant in shock as he pulls himself off the tree.

"Wow, you really suck at this…"

"You think that's enough to kill someone?! He finishes pulling his body off and lands on the ground on all fours. He stares at the beast with manic eyes and an unsettling grin, which even forces the monster back a step out of dread. He begins individually pulling each steel fragment out of his body.

"At least they aren't poisoned…." He murmurs to himself. He feels the strain of battle finally getting to him. It's getting more difficult to move.

/'/'/

"I'm going to finish you off now. Come on, you fake dragon." I taunt the monster with a mocking smirk. Good, it's charging at me. I think I got enough for one more move, but this has to end it.

Right before it swallows me whole with its mouth I lean backwards so far, my head nearly touches the grass. It bites down on nothing but air.

"**Gum-Gum: Volcano!**" My leg stretches underneath it and lifts it above the trees into the sky. If I fall all the way here, then I won't get back up. I force my body into a standing position.

It's in midair where it can't dodge this. I know exactly what move I'm going to use on it. I suck in a whole bunch of air enough to inflate me like a balloon and I twist my body tautly. I blow all the air onto the ground, which sends me flying into the sky in a spinning motion.

"Gum-Gum…" The monster adapts in the air by unfurling a pair of metal wings. Whatever it tries to do, whether it be blowing another storm of blades at me or flying out of range is interrupted by a metal bat being thrown at high speeds towards it's face. That distraction is all I need to finish it for good.

"**STOOOORM!**" One fist, then four, then sixteen, then an innumerable amount of blows rain upon it until its body is completely liquified on the inside. It goes spiraling higher into the sky. I shatter its body of swords at the cost of my own hands.

My body is slowly falling towards the ground as I watch the monster go even higher and higher.

"Adapt to that." I say a little weakly. That did take a lot out of me. I wonder if that metal bat was actually Metal Bat. Heh, nice pun. Didn't I tell him that he could stay for his sister's piano recital?

I land on the ground back first with a loud thud. I turn to see Bad enter the clearing with a relieved look on his face. He was about to say something, but the sound of the dead monster falling to the ground interrupted him.

"Hey Bad. I got a little roughed up by the monster, but it's fine now." Damn, that was a really tough fight. But it was so fun! But it was so tough! Motivation to chase after more of that and laziness is warring inside me.

"I'm getting a bit of déjà vu." What why? All of a sudden, I see a familiar ninja come out.

"Oh, that's why." This exact situation literally happened yesterday. Oh hell. Does he want to fight now? I instantly jump up into a ready position against him while he stares nonplussed at me.

"What are you doing?" What do you mean? Aren't you going to rush me without giving me a chance to speak like you did against Saitama?

"Aren't we going to fight? You did say that just a day ago." Bad gets in front of me with an annoyed look on his face directed at Sonic. How touching, but I'll be fine…I think.

"Fight you? It wouldn't even be much of a challenge." He pointedly stares at my hand and my body that looks like it has been through a grinder.

"What are you talking about? I can still go further. As a matter of fact, I feel like I can fight another round with that lizard." Why am I taunting him so much? I must be high on the adrenaline.

"If you really want to fight me that badly, then we'll do it tomorrow at this time." Ha-ha no. I'm leaving the city tomorrow. I won't be able to do that in this condition, so I'll wait until tomorrow. Sonic vanishes again without me getting a chance to object. Actually, should I fight him? It'll give me experience with humanoid opponents, but I've taken martial arts in the past. Decisions, decisions.

"Speaking of fighting, Bad!" I point to him dramatically.

"What are you doing here? I told you I had it handled. Don't tell me you left the recital in the middle of it going on?"

"I'm a hero. It's my job to fight monsters. My sister will understand. Besides, I think she would be even angrier if I just left everything to you." He rubs the back of his head. Well…you have a point there. Guess I should be thankful. He's really a good guy.

"Actually, how much time is left until the concert ends?" I don't quite recall how long mine was, but it should be over by now.

"Thirty more minutes." Damn, how long is that recital?!

"It's not like she was the only one playing the piano today. There were multiple people as well." Understandable. Have a nice day.

I try to leave, but then he grips my shoulder heavily. "Where do you think you're going?" He says that casually, but I feel a pressure.

"Back to the recital, of course. I just need to pick up my jacket and hide the injuries from her." I walk over to where I tied my hoodie down and I wear it once more. Once I zip it up, no one will be able to tell I fought a hard fight. My pants are torn though.

"Come on, let's go see this recital to the end." I'm the one leading Bad this time. That bat he threw though…. It's completely destroyed now. I couldn't tell if that was a new bat, or the one from yesterday that was already messed up.

We make it back to the recital just in time for Zenko to start playing. Ah, what a wonderful piece! It brings back memories of those halcyon days. I don't recognize the piece she's playing, but I can tell how much she practiced. So, this is why Bad wanted to attend it so badly.

The concert ended relatively quickly and now it's time for us to leave. Zenko seems to notice my ripped pants.

"What happened?!" My lying skills are unparalleled!

"I got bored waiting for you to play so I went outside. I told Bad to get me when it was getting close to your turn. I ran into a couple monsters during that time and they messed up my pants. You're really good at the piano by the way."

Compliment her skills to distract her from contradictions. I'm such a scumbag liar and I love it. Follow my lead on this one Bad. I look over to him as he…_doesn't follow my lie!_

He proceeds to tell Zenko what actually happened and she goes quiet. I look over to him with a betrayed look on my face.

"I never lie to her." He says that with a serious face, so much so that I can't get mad at him. This is an example of a virtue screwing me over. Zenko slaps my gut and I bend over in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow. Don't do that." She just let's out a sigh.

"It would have been fine if you didn't attend my recital. I'm not a spoiled child, you know. Don't assume things! And you too big bro!" She starts berating for being idiots on our way to the apartment. Worried about me as well? Now that I think about it….

If Bad came with me, we could have ended everything much faster. I would have ended up with less injuries as well. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess.

"Now I have to patch you up again. Take off your jacket and shirt!" So bossy. I do exactly as she says and she starts disinfecting everything. It burns so good... Well, I have the rest of the day to do some random stuff. I guess I'll get a bag and put some necessities in it for the trip tomorrow. I let the siblings know that I'm leaving for a bit. My pants are still torn, but i can cover my ripped shirt with my jacket. Now I just look like an edgy teen. Oh well.

"Time to find some food!" I say with enthusiasm.


	4. True Nature

Chapter 4

I went out to find some food, but then I realized something of grave importance.

"I don't have any money!" I yell that in the middle of a crowd and they all start staring at me like I'm a lunatic. It's not my fault that I forgot about money. Why did I have to be broke like a fraud?

Just how am I going to get some money. Maybe I can just steal some food from a hotdog stand? Wait wait…I'm a good guy! I can't do things like that. Well, maybe I could put that idea on the backburner. Just what should I do…? Oh, is that Sonic…in casual clothes?! Maybe I can mooch off of him!

I run up to Sonic with a hopeful look on my face. He turns to look at me and his face changed into something resembling one who bites into a lemon. Am I really that undesirable of a guy…?

"For hurting my feelings, I demand that you feed me!" I point at him when I finish my statement. He also hears the sound of my stomach rumbling. He then looks back to me with an extremely exasperated look on his face.

"Why the hell should I feed you?" Oh, he's doing the 'what's in it for him' scenario. Well I got something for you.

"If you feed me…then I'll teach you a secret fitness routine to make your body much stronger and faster. Trust me on this one. I know a guy who did it He did it for three years and achieved an unbeatable strength that I wish to overcome." I say this with my most serious face I've ever put on in my entire life. He seems to be intrigued no matter how much he wishes to hide it.

"Fine. I have money to spare from some jobs. Come on and let's get this over with already." He seems to be apathetic, but I know deep inside that he desperately desires more power. He's like Sasuke, except without the worst parts. Wait…was this guy based off of Sasuke? So many questions.

We eventually reach a restaurant where I can engorge myself. It's of course, a cheap McDonald's knockoff. Let's see…oh-ho! I noticed the numbers, and I decided to replicate a certain meme. I walk up to the person taking orders and I execute the joke.

"I'll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda." Sonic looked disgusted with how much I ordered while he ordered a small meal. The lady up front looked to be disoriented with how much I ordered, but I just feel a sense of satisfaction and disappointment in myself for doing that.

Once we get our meals we sit down, and Sonic begins questioning me. Though not with what I expected.

"Can you even eat all of that?" He said with a neutral frown. Ah. I didn't even think that. I hope I can. I nod my head without giving away that I just wasted his money. I begin consuming everything in front of me like an endless void.

"I'm surprised I managed to eat all of that." I pat my stomach to signify that I'm full. My statement seems to irritate Sonic.

"You mean you almost wasted my money? Whatever, I don't give a damn about that. Tell me about this fitness routine." An almost carnivorous hunger lights his eyes. You want to know that badly? Fine!

I open my mouth, "One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and 10 km every day. Don't forget to turn off the AC and eat a banana everyday as well. At first, you'll feel like dying, but you will get results. Side effects include sudden baldness," and spew out what Saitama said to Dr. Genus. The more I spoke, the darker Sonic's eyes became.

"Do you take me…" eye twitching "…for a joke!" He slams both of his hands on the table alerting everyone to us. Oh, he's mad. Real mad. I did tell you the truth though. I start busting a gut laughing at his anger. I didn't know I had this hidden side of me that desired to make everyone mad around me. This trollish side that desires to commit suicide through people's anger is very interesting.

"The truth is that you should attempt to break your limiter." Right before Sonic considered drawing his blade out, I shut him down with serious words and I also attempt to placate the crowd by smiling at them. He seems to drink in what I said and motions me for further explanation with his eyes.

"What I mean is that you should do exercise so extreme that it will feel like you will die. Make your heart feel like it will explode, make your bones and muscles feel like they will rip and break off with even the slightest more movement, and then push your body even further beyond that each day. I guarantee that you will reach strength surpassing nearly everyone else if you dedicate the most extreme effort."

When I finish saying that he immediately vanishes from his seat in a gust of wind. I guess he's going to go do that right now. Or he just really doesn't want to deal with my annoying self. Still, that disgusting and greasy American-style fast food was very filling and delicious. I can feel my arteries clogging right now. I get up and leave the restaurant with hands in my torn pants' pockets.

One of the staff members shoots me a look filled with indignation as he sees the mess I've made without cleaning it up. Oh yeah, messing with people is definitely going to be my new pastime. I wonder how Bad will feel once he notices that I've discovered my true self. I didn't even have to face my shadow to find it! It's a good thing that Sonic overpaid in cash and didn't notice the change going to me. I will never let him find out about this.

With this money…I can buy a bag! One that will last me across my journey to Z-City. I'll fill it with the heaviest trash I can find for weight training. The only way to get stronger is to train after all. I'm a lazy person, but when I find something fun, I dedicate all my determination into chasing it with fervor. My goal is to give Saitama the fight of his life!

When I go back to the park, I notice that all the rubble still hasn't been cleared up yet. I've already bought a bag, so I can just fill it up with all these heavy stones strewn about. There's no one here, so I have the benefit of stealth as well. I would have stayed here for training, but I gotta bounce to avoid Sonic pestering me for something else.

"What I need to achieve is immeasurable speed, reflexes, strength, and stamina. My strongest points in order are stamina, reflexes, strength, then speed." I mentally record what I should be focusing on first.

I decided to myself that I need to increase my speed first. Carrying around a back filled with rocks should bolster everything except for my reflexes. That can only be honed in battle. This rubber body should be able to use the Gears that Luffy can, but that needs to wait until I'm fit enough so I won't face life-threatening consequences.

Once I pack my bag to the brim with a bunch of rubble I try lifting it up.

"Woah, this shit's heavy as hell." I struggle to place it on my back, but I eventually put it there snug and tight. This is going to suck, but it's worth it. Just gotta think of the end goal here. I jog around the city and work up a nice sweat. Good thing it started to rain because I haven't even considered where I would take a shower. Don't want to hog the water from Bad and his sister.

I was out on a run for about three hours exhausting my superhuman endurance. I made my way back to Bad's apartment soaking wet. I knocked on the door and Zenko was the one to greet me with a look of shock plastered on her face. She then runs back inside and I follow her to see a towel in her hand.

"W-what are you doing?! You can get sick out in the cold like that, you idiot!" I flash her with my most charming grin, which is to say the ugliest thing ever and speak to her with utmost confidence.

"Silly Good Sister. Don't you know? Idiots can't get colds!" I wag my finger at her and finish my brilliant conclusion. Anime taught me this, so it must be true! Zenko is baffled by my genius that only someone as great as me can comprehend.

"This isn't an anime, and you are way past an idiot if you think such a thing!" You're right, you weren't in the anime.

"Yes…this is a Manga!" She looks one hundred percent done with my shit, and I decide to stop messing with her. I grab the towel from her hands and start drying myself up. Bad should have noticed the commotion we were making by now.

"So, where's your brother? I'm getting bored and I wanna talk to him." More like I want to mess with him. I just can't control this part of me at all and I need to let everything out. I'm just so tired right now! After drying myself I collapse in the sofa from exhaustion, but not without gently laying the bag down.

"I don't know. What're you tired for?" She just now noticed how out of breath I am. She also noticed the loud bang the bag made when I 'gently' dropped it.

"I was doing some exercise to get myself in better shape. Can't have your brother leaving me in the dust, now can I?" I flash her a lazy grin. I do owe him a favor he can call in anytime and anywhere. Gotta make sure i can keep up with that favor. I then close my eyes for a quick rest.

* * *

I sense a foot about to hit my side and then I sit right up. I open my eyes to see a wild Bad using Mega Kick on my body. I avoid it and kick him right in the face sending him to the wall.

"Oops. I slipped." I deliver that with my greatest poker face, which is pretty shit judging based on how I'm holding my gut trying to stop laughter from slipping out. There's a footprint on his face and he looks highly unamused. Even Zenko doesn't know whether she wants to laugh or hit me for that one.

"Oh, I see you got a new bat. So, that's what you were out for." I walk over to the bat hanging on the wall while ignoring the look Bad is giving me. If I ignore him, then he'll go away. I then hear footsteps getting closer to me. I feel the looming threat of doom over my shoulders.

"Yeah, I got one from the Hero Association themselves. It was made by some other S-Class dude that I can't remember. You want to test it out?" If I say yes, then he's going to smack me with it. If I say no, then he's going to cash in on that favor to smack me with it. I try to placate him.

"I know that you want to hit me, but you should ask yourself if that's really what you want. Now the answer may surprise you!" I don't think that swayed him at all. My rubber body will protect me…hopefully. Zenko already brought out the first aid kit.

"I'd like to cash in on that favor." He says with a menacing grin. I immediately book it and leap off the railing. Bad chases me in a furious pursuit. I run all the way to the park with him still on my ass.

"Dude, why are you acting like I'm a hooker who made off with your money without even giving you service!" My vulgar words made the guy that I forgot was a teen stammer and blush. What a prude. I guess people in Japan and not-Japan are this way though. I flip him off with a laugh, and he gets even faster.

We make it to a clearing and I stop running. I turn around and face him with my battle face, which is the face of a man who's ready for some 'action.'

"So, how do you wanna start this?"

He slams down on his bat, but I block it crossing my arms. The force of the impact cracks the ground beneath me. I think he's holding back? I jump back and spread my arms in an invitation.

"Come on, what are you doing holdin' back like that! A battle is meant to be fought with everything you got, so give me your all! I won't go down at all, so don't worry about me!" I won't even use my rubber abilities. I need to learn how to fight a person anyway.

He immediately moves in front of me to swing the bat horizontally, but I duck forward underneath it. The pressure of the air giving out from the swing of that bat nearly distorted my positioning. I pivot to the left to follow through with a left jab to the gut. It staggers him a little, and I kick him in the face once again. He goes spinning back just to land on his feet with a stronger footprint on his face.

"When I'm done with you, your face, will look like a tattoo of the bottom of my shoe." I give him a mocking grin and he gets even faster.

Good…

I block what I can't dodge, and dodge what I can't block. We exchange a furious flurry of blows. I think I can see a grin on his face. I thought you didn't like fighting Bad…! It's not nice to lieeeee!

I couldn't stop the laughter seeping out as I spin around for a crescent kick, which reverberates the bat. He holds onto it even though I know his bones felt that vibration.

Good.

We continue to blow off steam in this fast-paced highspeed battle. I'm trying to draw on my rusty experience and knowledge with karate. I have to extrapolate more. Even though I'm going all out, he's just getting stronger and faster than me. He's even landing blows on me that I can neither block nor dodge. This rubber body dulls most of the power…but I still feel it.

Good!

He hits me extremely hard in the head. Earlier in the battle that would have sent me flying, but now I'm powering through it and nailing him in the face with a punch sending him backwards.

"Why'd you have to always aim for the face!" He seems to be exasperated. A minor head wound is causing him to bleed, but I don't care. Some may think that I'm fighting to liberate all the stress accumulating for dealing with monsters and being dragged from my world. Others may think I'm striking out in frustration with all the bad luck that plagued my life.

Those are things that a normal person might fight about. But…I'm not normal. I'm just fighting cause it's fun.

This feeling of fighting for the heck of it is exhilarating. The feeling of no longer having to worry about a thing! Even if this side of me unnerves everyone around me, even if I was never accepted by anyone except for my grandparents, I just can't let this part of me rot away!

I don't respond to his annoyance and jump right back into the fray. He seems to be shocked by sudden jump in speed and power. All he can do his keep on the defensive.

"Come on…is that all you have! Don't let it end too soon now!" I fire off a heel drop slamming down on the bat hard. The force of the impact left a small crater in the ground with cracks growing from it. He shook off the attack like it was nothing and speeds up even further. This fighting spirit of yours…you are definitely the most fun opponent for me to fight!

* * *

This guy is gettin' stronger, almost like I am. Why's this guy lusting over fighting so much? Is he even thinkin' clearly?

"**『Good!』**"

The hell? Something just flashed in his eyes when he said that? A dull glow of gray…gotta focus on the fight right now. I swing to intercept his fist that nearly knocks the damn bat out of my hand. He wasn't hitting this hard at the beginning! I'm still keeping him at bay. I think it's time to finish this.

"Killin' Moves Fightin' Spirit: Dragon Thrashing!" This move should win me the battle, but why is his grin growing even larger? He's just gonna stand there and let the blows rain on him?! I'm not going to pull it back. He won't get hurt that much from this.

The ground explodes.

* * *

Those were some strong blows, but nothing's broken or even that bruised. The benefits of a rubber body I suppose. That fight was exhilarating and it did let me release some steam building up. After fighting that metal lizard, a desire to fight more began growing in me. Bad's going to grow even stronger from now, so I have to do the same.

"Why did you even want to fight me in the first place?" I ask him that. It can't just be because of me kicking him in the face.

"I wanted to know exactly how strong you are. If I'm gonna cash in a favor, it's not gonna be to a battle that'll get yerself killed." I see…how interesting.

"But you already said you were cashing in a favor. So, how are you going to convince me to help you out." I'll help him out anyway, cause that's what friends do, right?

"Never said what I was cashing in the favor for. So, you actually still owe me one." That's…exactly right. How deceptive. I didn't think this guy had a cunning bone in his body?! My face must have shown its shock because he's grinning a smug grin at me. That mocking aura is taunting me… I'm getting tired of being tricked like this.

"Hey, you wanna go for another round." I say a bit unhinged. I think I managed to creep him out just a tad bit because that smirk vanished like it was never there in the first place. Like a maiden's kiss! "So, how did you like our surprise battle anyway?"

"It was…something" Don't lie! I know you liked that almost as much as I did. The stereotype that guys like to fight is true I guess. The feeling of my blood singing in the park was amazing…! I felt like I was gonna…

"Stop making that face right now!" He seems to be extremely put off by my state of bliss. What the hell?

"I was just thinking of our wonderful battle as our bodies hit each other and sweat glistens off of us. Now let us take a manly shower and wash each other's back Bad Brother." The homoeroticism is super strong right now. I get closer to him with a smile on my face and he backs off. I take a step forward and he takes one back.

"Now…come with me!" I run towards him and he immediately sprints away from me in a mad dash back to the house. The situation has reversed! His fighting spirit must still be on because he's able to keep just out of my reach, or is it the fear of my lunacy. Might as well embrace the craziness of this world if I'm to fit in. My gimmicks are going to be trolling and a lust for battle.

Bad looks behind him and stares into my Bodhisattva-like face and speeds up even faster. We run throughout the streets passing by the random civilians.

"It doesn't matter how fast you run when we end up at the same place!" He stops right when he reaches for the door to the apartment and sees my grabby hands motion to touch him. Dread mounts his face and fear fills his eyes.

"No…" I look into his eyes as I grab his shoulder with deep emotion.

"Yes." He attempts to back up and only hits the door loudly. He can no longer run from bro time. As long as I say no homo, then a bath together will be just fine, right? That is how it works in Japan I'm pretty sure. Siblings bathe together all the time, right?!

"NOOOOOOOO!" Apparently Zenko was already outside the door hearing her brother's scream. She pulls a paper fan from out of nowhere and smacks both of us in the head. I immediately come back to sanity and Bad's fear gets erased. We both walk in the door following a very disappointed little sister.

"Just what was I doing…?" I put my head in my hands. I definitely wasn't thinking straight. I was being consumed by the desire to troll and I couldn't pull myself back to my normal state.

"Maybe I hit you too many times in the head…?" That must be it. Yes, that's the only explanation that will work. I'm definitely locking this incident into a dark corner in my mind. After purging that incident from my memory, I then begin to talk to Bad like nothing ever happened.

"So, you got a new bat. An unbreakable one at that! Now your strength will really shine." He holds up the bat with a grin on his face while Zenko wipes the blood off of him. He's definitely gonna go far. Well, I need to buy some preserved foods for the trip. I exit the place once more without their notice.

* * *

"I'm back!" I slam open the door and wave my hand. Both siblings turn to me with annoyance in their gaze.

"Where were you?!" Zenko rudely points her finger at me and demands to know where I went. I scratch the back of my head and shrug my shoulders. I point to the plastic bag in my hand as I set it down and open my traveling bag.

"I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning. I need to get to Z-City eventually, and that requires me actually moving from here." Zenko actually seems a little down from that?

"What are you looking sad for? Don't tell me you're actually gonna miss me. We've only known each other for two days, was it?" She seems like she's getting sadder. If she cries, then Bad is going to punt me to the moon!

"Besides it's not like we're not going to see each other again. I promise that I'll visit sooner or later!" I flail around trying to stop her from crying while avoiding Bad's gaze. Her tears vanished like they're weren't there in the first place and she looks like the cat that ate the canary. I got played again!

"I'm taking your shower. I hope my blood clogs up the drain." I point at her with all of my spite at getting deceived by a kid. She just sticks her tongue at me as I enter the bathroom. Bad must've known what she was doing. I guess they'll actually miss me. How…surprising.

I leave the bathroom with a towel around my neck. The first thing I see is Zenko and her big bro sitting at the table watching some stuff. What is this entry-level garbage anime they're watching? Wait a sec…are they marathoning Dragon Ball?

I immediately sit down in an open spot and join them with no words spoken. I've always made it a habit to marathon Dragon Ball once every year and I haven't done it this year yet. I didn't even think they'd have it here... I guess we'll do it through the night. It must be nice having the DVDs and not having to watch it online.

"We're skipping all the filler and trashy episodes. You're free to join." Dear diary, today I learned that Zenko is a shounen anime fan. Good taste indeed. Besides, it's not like we're actually gonna marathon everything in one night.

* * *

"Alright Goku beat pickle, let's go to sleep already. It's six in the morning!" The two wave me off. I guess they're continuing on to pickle junior. Screw that, I'm clocking out right now. I roll out a futon and sleep immediately.

I immediately get up the moment consciousness returns in preparation for a certain annoyance given me sudden wake-up calls. Now that I think about it, this is the first time that I've woken up in this place without being assaulted. Everyone else seems to still be sleeping. I yawn and stretch out my taut body.

Now that I'm loose and limber, it's time to pick up my bag and leave! Gotta make sure to leave a note first though. Let's see…according to the map, I can pass a forest and then I'll enter D-City. After that I can head directly into Z-City. A nice distance to get some exercise done.

Time to go northward. I pick up my bag, open the door and gently close it without leaving a sound.

Leaving the city wasn't actually that hard. I assumed there would be more security. Right now, I'm jogging through the forest and avoiding wild animals that seek my meat. Seek…my meat. Pfft, I'm such an immature shit. I'm starting to get hungry though. When I drop my bag, I hear the bushes rustling. Oh, a bear! Come to papa!

"This taste…it's somewhat sweet. Almost like sweet ribs, which I really hate. Beggars can't be choosers I guess." I wrestled the bear down and crushed its skull. Now, I'm roasting it over an open fire and devouring it heartily. I can eat any type of meat, but there are some few that I just don't like. Guess I have to add bear meat to that tiny list.

There's not much to do in this forest, so I guess I can just carry on with boredom.

* * *

It's the evening right now in S-City and there is a certain Ninja waiting in the Park for someone. He's been there ever since the noon. He's interested in fighting Wil due to his frankly insane type of exercise that he recommended and how he combated that monstrous reptile.

"It…has been six hours. Maybe he's running late." He's trying to convince himself that Wil isn't the type of person to forgo promises. On one hand, he's right, but on the other, Wil didn't agree to the challenge. The demented ninja forced him into a destined duel and he just ditched it.

"He stood me up!" The crazy ninja is now visibly upset, so much that the words he used were interpreted in the worst way possible. People around him in the repaired park are looking at him with pity because his words gave them the assumption that his date stood him up.

A bleach-haired man decked out in jewelry came up to him.

"Hey girl, it seems you were stood up, but don't worry. I know I can treat you right." He winks and tries to give off a suave aura. Only now does Sonic realize what he just said. He instantly reboots and tries to shoo the guy away. He's a ninja who keeps in control of his emotions. Such words won't trigger his anger.

"I can show you a good time." The man puts his arms around Sonic's shoulder. He misidentified Sonic's gender, which is understandable, but then he got into his personal space and tried to court him. What happened after is also understandable.

The park had to be repaired again.

* * *

"I feel really satisfied for some reason." In the middle of my jog I just had a weird urge to start smiling. Maybe my six sense is detecting a spectacular battle up ahead? There's a clearing ahead! I jump out, drop my bag, and get into a ready stance for a fight.

There's nothing here….

My day is ruined and my disappointment is immeasurable. I pick up my bag and start jogging once more with a depressed aura consuming my spirit. "Is this loss?" I feel a feeling that makes me feel the feeling of a depressed man feeling true loss. What a shitty feeling.

I've been jogging well into the night now. Falling asleep in the morning screwed up my sleep schedule immensely. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to fix. I'm just going to exhaust myself with a spring then I'll fall asleep at night. Let's see how far I can get.

"Where the hell am I now?!" I say that with a smile on my face. I'm just truly baffled. I know the map said I'd enter a wasteland after the forest, but I didn't think it would be literally where Goku and Vegeta fought for the first time minus the hill and the mountains. Shit, I'm going through a damn dust storm right now.

It's hard to see, but I'll just continue forward.

Eventually the dust storm clears and it reveals a clear blue sky with no sun? Just how long have I been sprinting and why is my sense of time fucked up?! I drop my bag out of shock. More importantly, where is the sun?!

"**Greetings…**" A voice echoes throughout the wasted land. I immediately turn around and see a figure that wasn't there before. It's shrouded in rusted armor with dozens of blades sticking out of its back. Through the armored visor I see glowing yellow orbs for eyes.

I breathe in heavily. "Who…are you?" I question him with my perpetual humor ever-present in my tone all gone. This is not someone I can take easily at all. I stare deeply into my hand thinking how I can take this…thing down.

"**So…thou hast assumed the presence of battle?**" What?

"**Bethink oneself of thy origin…I am Ogun, the spirit of battle. Thou art the second human with a natural similar to mine own. Com…pare…thine will with ours! Stand and fight, ye true human!**" Its voice sounds like blades mashed together in a toaster. It's starting to get even more incomprehensible as it goes on.

I do know that it desires battle though, and that's what it'll get! I'm tired from the sprinting, but I'll give this everything I and some more!

The spirit with blades protruding from its back stands up and pulls one of the blades out. It's a sword spear with a jagged edge. Black liquid erupts from its back, but it gives shows nothing that expresses the pain.

Great, another sharp weapon. With that thought it charges at me blade first with blinding speed that I could barely avoid. I got a cut on my left cheek for my efforts. He's going straight for critical spots out the gate…!

I know this type of guy. The people who take up fighting solely for the sake of killing. After all, that's what it's used for to begin with, but I don't use it for that. I fight to enjoy myself and nothing more. I'm a pretty selfish guy who desires enjoyment out of fun things.

"**Gum-Gum: Stamp!**" I duck my head backwards to avoid a slash that would have lopped my head off. I use the opening to slam to foot into his gut to push him back and gain distance, but I only manage to push him back. He put the shaft of the spear right where my foot was. This guy's extremely dexterous, but….

I run at him with both my arms extended backwards.

"Let's see who'll hit each other first!" With a manic gleam in my eyes I charge at him with suicidal resolve. Is the rubber-band effect faster, or will it be his thrust that reaches my heart?

"**Gum-Gum Bazooka!**" I feel the slice of the wind reach my chest, but I slam both my palms into the rusted armor of the spirit which pushes him back an insane amount of distance. That blow must've hurt. I look into the direction I sent him with a grin.

"**Cursed body…**" He immediately thrusts at my chest while my eyes narrow into pinpricks and hits nothing but air. My heart is beating extremely fast from that close shave with death as I use Shave myself. Ten steps in an instant allowed me to do avoid that instant death blow, but my legs are burning from that.

I nearly died…and I don't have a problem with that. Right before he turns around and cuts me in half horizontally I abuse my rubber abilities.

"**Gum-Gum Gatling Gun!**" Right before the first of the barrage of fists hit him, he pulls yet another weapon from his body to dual-wield. This time, it was a heavy lance he pulled. He fends off my innumerable blows with precise skill and agility. He offset my balance and tried to run me through with both blades.

I jump in the air and try to keep him down. "**Gum-Gum Spear.**" I bring my feet together and strike down into his helmet. He speeds up along the path of his thrust to move out of the way. He couldn't position himself properly before I landed, so he threw his heavy lance.

It vanished once it left his hand and I immediately moved my head to the side out of a sheer sense of foreboding. Right where my head was, the lance appeared. It vanished once again and appeared in his right hand. That was some spatial manipulation shit right there. So, we're cheating now?

I didn't want to use this at all, but….

I position my body in a three-point stance with my remaining hand on my knee. The opponent in front of me releases all the blades behind him and they start hovering in a circular position behind him like a vertical halo.

I pump my legs twice to increase the speed of my blood flow. The weapons in his hands joins the circle of axes, swords, and spears behind him, which makes a total of nineteen. A distortion in space appears in both of his hands.

Steam starts flowing off my body. My skin gains a pink tone, and my heartbeat speeds up dramatically. A rusted scythe appears in his hand. At once, all the rust coming off the weapons and his armor flows towards the scythe giving it an ancient appearance. The yellow glow in his eyes turn into a dull brown.

The ultimate tool for killing. Also a farm weapon. He's serious about taking my life. That's fine. My life never really meant much in the long run. As long as I can shine brightly, I can accept even living a life a fifth as long as a regular person!

I aim my right fist at the spirit about to cleave my head off.

"**Gum-Gum: Jet Pistol!**" I let loose a yell and throw a full force punch with everything I have into the armored sternum. I sent him flying, but the blades behind him continue to charge me. I can't dodge them this close…!

"**Jet Gatling Gun!**" I let loose a flurry of fists that greatly surpass the speed of sound, fending off the blades trying to slice, cleave, pierce, and tear me to shreds. While I'm doing that, the spirit blitzes me. I once again Shave with even greater speed and ease to avoid the bisection.

I appear behind him with a twisted arm stretched back. "Gum-Gum: Jet Rifle!" He instantly turns around with unparalleled grace and spins the scythe in the opposite direction at hypersonic speeds to where I was aiming. The reflection threw my fist off, and the hovering weapons rush me.

I stretch my body in weird angles to avoid the worst of the blows, but some still grazed me bloody. I come together in a human shape just in time to duck to the left, dodging a killing blow from the scythe. He thrusts his armored boot at my side and sends me flying.

I manage to stand up a little shaken and cough up blood to my immense surprise. That…hurt. It actually hurt a lot. It hurt so good! I don't mind death, but I don't want to die. I want to fight more like this! _There's no way that I'm gonna lose to you!_

"I'm taking you down!" I send my foot high up into the sky as he charges to with all those blades first. I bring it down with a bloodthirsty grin and try to finish this with the last of my energy in Gear Second. _All I need is guts!_

"**Gum-Gum: Jet Battleax!**" I come down hard on all the blades and shatter them with Godspeed. He sacrificed all his blades to finish me off once and for all. It's too bad that I'm faster than him in this state!

I grab the scythe by the hilt just before it opens my face, and I snap it in half by the hilt. I use one final Jet Pistol and send him flying off. The steam off my body recedes and I become extremely exhausted. I'm sweating an unhealthy amount and I'm drinking in so much air like I've almost drowned. I feel like vomiting from what I put my body through.

Fighting is fun, but recovering from those fights isn't. I put a smile on my face, but then I see a dark metallic beast rush me with extreme ardor. It's the spirit, but on all fours and a little changed. It instantly launched me into the air and put me in an infinite combo.

Its claws tear the wind and break through space with an immeasurable speed. I couldn't see it, so I felt it. The ripping of my muscles all the way to the bone, some claws actually nicking organs.

It came down like a hammer after putting me through the shredder with its new claws. It slammed me down in the ground so hard, it created a fissure spreading for miles. I cough up an obscene amount of blood because it hit something important. It's taking everything I have just to think coherently.

"**You…**" It picks me up with its mouth and throws me. I just want to close my eyes and rest, but…losing to it…is just unacceptable. I pull every last of my reserves out of my body just to stand. I point my finger at it as it readies for the ending charge. It starts shining white.

"I'm not gonna lose to you. It'll…take more than that to kill me." Everything becomes clearer. I always had the will to fight, but never the will to win. That's the kind of twisted individual I was. I never sought victory but just the fun of the experience itself. That hasn't change, and it never will change; however, I will continue moving forward to face new experiences, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

I send my hand spiraling backwards. It stretches farther than anything I've ever done. I know exactly when to release it. I know the moment it will charge me. The tension in its armor, the flashing of its gaze, the sound it makes….

Now!

It leaps in a spinning motion at untraceable speeds. with the might of Fenrir, intent on ending everything. That's fine, I don't need to see it because I know where it will be going. I call my hand forward to meet its charge,

"_**Gum-Gum: Gungnir.**_" And send a oppositely spinning blackened knife-hand through its entire body, shattering the armor. I threw my worn body forward in an effort to pierce past everything with all of my strength. My will won out in the end.

"**Magnificent…**" I fall backwards slowly looking on as the sky and the world around us begins to crack and fragment. Everything turns to white as the world shatters and I see the night sky reveal itself. A new moon and the stars around it fill my eyes. What a beautiful ocean of stars. The starlight illuminates it with a comet swimming through the sky. I fall backwards and slowly close my eyes to rest.

"It really was…magnificent alright."


	5. World Domination Sounds Fun

Chapter 5

That battle was extremely exhausting. That Ogun guy really messed me up badly. My body was nearly shredded and torn to pieces, and my hoodie got ripped up again! I don't have anyone to stitch it up either. This is a very misfortunate situation. Well, at least I can take a temporary nap to reduce the stress on my body.

Yeah…that sounds like a good idea. I should just…sleep here.

"Hey." I hear someone besides me. Maybe if I ignore them, I can just fall into a peaceful slumber. They'll go away once they think I'm dead from all my wounds hopefully.

"Wake up." They actually start kicking me. Am I dealing with another Bad-like character here? I should at least open my eyes to see who's messing with my much-needed beauty sleep.

"Ah, so you are alive. That's good." I see a very unnerving and androgynous person in front of me. They're covering up the wonderful view of the stars. I can only see the right side of his or her face due to the other side being covered by long, wavy hair. Pallid green hair. I hope my irritated eyes convey how much I don't want to deal with this person.

"I sensed a battle take place, so I got curious." My ticked off gaze did jack shit. They just start rambling to themselves with a creepy smile and assume that I care enough to listen. Annoyingly enough, I am kind of curious of someone who would come out to this deserted area. Now they're talking about the weather. It's clear that they are just screwing with me so I interrupt them.

"Hey…what do you want?" I just want a peaceful rest. Is that so much to ask for without getting interrupted by kicks and water being poured on me? That got their attention.

"Me? I just want someone to talk to. It's been so boring being out of any cities." This person talks like they live the life of a hermit.

"How long have you been out of the cities?" Since I'm not going to get any rest as long as this person has any say about it, I might as well start responding to their attempts at making conversation.

"Only four hours." That unnerving smile…and these annoying answers. Jesus, you sound like a typical Manga villain. This guy even has that creepy smile that those traitorous snakes have. Never mind the fact that you got this deep into this place in a short period of time. Just how are you already bored being out of cities?

"Bored already?" I respond with a twitching eye. I'm usually the one making people irritated not the other way around. I don't like being messed with like this.

"That was a joke!" They start chuckling to themselves. I try to force my battered body to stand up to glare at them with the fury of a thousand adults tired from work, but unable to sleep. Unfortunately, I slip and fall face down ass up: the most embarrassing position to fall in. They nearly start laughing in full, but then compose themselves.

"It seems that you have been injured." Yeah, keep smiling at my screwed-up body. I swear that I'm going to punch you in the face one day.

"Can you pass me my bag? It's an ugly vomit green color. Reminds me of your hair to be honest." I tried to make them annoyed, my comment only served to amuse them even more.

"You mean the torn up remains of what seems to be a bag, random stones, and food scattered everywhere?" Fuck.

"Such misfortune." I let out a sigh and bemoan my crappy luck. I thought it was chilling on the backburner ever since I got here, but it's still going strong it seems. I regretfully turn pleading eyes towards them that seal my fate with theirs. Now that I think about it, I've been fighting enemies that use weapons, or have sharp armor. My shit-tier luck has actually been running strong all this time!

"Scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours?" I offer them a deal. They seem to be a bit surprised, then they go behind me and actually scratch my back. So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a joke.

"Are you messing with me right now?" My body hurts, I'm getting hungry, and I'm also getting a little cold now. Maybe I should just activate Gear Second and give myself a heart attack just to stop dealing with this guy.

I doubletake at that morbid joke that's even a bit too far for me.

"Why did you want me to scratch your back?" Wait a sec... is this person serious? I truly found a rare gem here.

"It's a saying. An idiom for you helping me then I'll help you with anything in return." I just set their eyes alight with something strange. For being someone as dense as a boulder, they can be sharp at times. They know exactly what I need.

They grab my foot to my confusion and start dragging me with my head rubbing across the rocky ground. I moan in pain and then they turn their amused ocean-blue eyes to my pitiful body. They know exactly what the hell they're doing. Screw with me huh? Well, I'll show you a trickster's might the moment I fully recover. But for now, I have to suffer being with the status of butt-monkey.

Thankfully we reach a camp that looks shoddily put together. Oh damn, this is an embarrassing sight. This camp looks like the result of a thousand failures put together in one putrid mess. It's so sad that even I can't laugh at this site. I look at this… 'camp' and all of a sudden, I see the image of Mumen Rider fighting Saitama. You can tell how hard the person worked, but they just couldn't do shit, but you still can't make fun of them because they at least tried.

"Wow, how the hell did you even create this abomination?!" I'm not a nice guy so I start laughing my ass off at this creation of a monster. "Are you an idiot?! You have to be to screw up this hard. This takes some serious talent. I'm truly impressed." I continue chuckling even at their twitching.

I widen my eyes and abruptly stop my laughter as I get thrown by my feet head-first through a solitary tree. It didn't hurt at all, but it was surprising. So, they don't like being criticized. That's some ammo I can keep in mind. I recovered enough to wobbily stand up and make my way over to them. I'm going to assume that's a female because she's shorter then me and I'm pretty short for a guy.

"It was a joke. Here, let me help you improve this place." She starts complaining about how it's temporary and that she's not even going to stay there long.

"It took me three hours just to set this up, and you come here and disparage it." Three hours?! She really sucks… but that means that she got here in just an hour. That's really damn fast. Just how did she do it? I turn an inquisitive gaze over to her direction as she just dons the smile again. Wait…

"Are you an escaped prisoner?" I point towards the cuffs with broken chains attached to her wrists. How did I notice this sooner? The moment I say, that the air gets heavier and her smile gains an edge to it. Guess that's a touchy subject. Might as well sit down. No point in standing if I'm not gonna do anything.

"My name's Wil. Who are you?" Might as well exchange names if I'm going to help her in the future. She seems to be contemplating something, then she nods to herself and speaks up.

"Shimi. Pleased to meet you." What a saccharine voice. It makes me want to dump an entire salt shaker down my throat. Pleased to meet you? Who even says that anymore?

"I need you to scratch my back as it were right now." Now that's the serious face I want to see. I do owe her so I motion her to go on. If it's something against my morals though…I will not follow through with it no matter what. It's not worth upholding a promise if it's only going to hurt others.

"I'm going to create a group, and I want you to be the first member." She points her finger to me while declaring that. A group huh? We talking world destruction type of group, or world salvation type of group?

"What is this purpose of this group? I don't have any problems with it as long as its goals don't interfere with mine." She grins with anticipation. I'm just noticing how sharp her teeth are. Exactly like a shark. Wait, will I have to call her boss? Also, what would be the name of the group?

"The purpose is world domination!" She seems to be really riled up about this. I haven't seen this kind of passion for anything ever. It's too bad that she chose such a ridiculous ambition.

"World domination? I mean… I could help you out, but why that of all things? It's really boring to just own the world like that. Could you imagine the paperwork you would have to do every day?" Unless she'll force all the meaningless garbage on me?! The second-in-command is always a butt-monkey. I like fighting, not writing!

"You don't need to know why. Just join my group and assist me. Besides, what've you got to lose?" For anyone else, that argument wouldn't have flown; however, it's perfect for me. I don't have anything to lose because I no longer have anything. Alright then, let's see where world domination takes me.

"Fine. A promise's a promise. I'll follow you until we own the world I guess." That halfhearted agreement seems to be all she needed. She then sits down right across from me and starts looking at me. I get a bit nervous from the attention.

"What?" Stop looking at me like that! What do you even want? Go to sleep already, it's nighttime.

"I'm curious. Why did you come out here, and what put you in such a condition?" Oh no, it's the dreaded topic of small talk. I don't talk to girls because I'm the biggest virgin in the universe. I just can't normally talk to them unless the mood is serious. I'm such a damn coward, an imbecile, a useless flop. This curse has plagued me all my life! Though it still isn't as bad as my luck.

"Uh…" I look to the side to avoid her gaze. Alright! All I need to do is close my eyes and talk. "I was going to D-City." Yeah, let's start there. I'll conquer my weakness yet!

"There's someone in Z-City that I have to meet, but I gotta go through D-City to get there. The moment I reach that person, we're going to fight. I need to test myself against him and see how strong he is in person. There's no chance of me winning, but I don't even need that in the first place. I just wanna have some fun fighting strong people forever!"

I got swept up in my passion just talking about my goal. To be honest, I think it would be nice to fight Saitama. If there's even a chance of me giving him a good fight, then that would be good. He needs something to revitalize those dwindling embers. I'll have to be the spark for that.

"You like fighting that much? Then is that how you got all those injuries?" She's a bit bemused by what I love most. Fighting's great. It's the best way to connect with people that I know how. These injuries are how I understood that spirit. He just wanted to fight all out all the time, just like I want to.

"I love fighting. It's how I met my first friend after all. And these injuries…well I was running at max speed to save time and all of a sudden, the sky was clear and sunny. It was really weird. I ran into a spirit controlling an armor and we fought with it ending in my victory." Just barely though.

"Not the injuries of the physical kind, but of the spiritual kind. Have you been through mental trauma?" That's a little too much to ask, you know. Won't even tell me about those handcuffs, but you want me to spill out my whole life story?

She stops thinking about my potential inner conflict and focuses on something else.

"Was this…spirit named Ogun?" I open my eyes in shock. She knows him? Wait, he did say that I was the second one he met or something like that." Could she have been the first? I nod my head once I collect myself.

"I see. You must be pretty tough to beat him like that. I fought him myself and came out victorious. It was probably right before you actually. Although, I did it without any injuries." She switches to a mocking voice near the end. Must be really strong then. She did break of prison after all. I wonder if she knows Puri-Puri Prisoner? Ah, that doesn't matter right now.

"Yeah, he was tough, but I was stronger. I only got these injuries because I smashed all his weapons and he rushed me on all fours and took on a beast-like state. Oh, he did kick me hard in the side, which surprisingly hurt a lot." I'm curious how he just ignored my rubber body like that. It didn't look like it was Haki.

"All fours? He just kept throwing weapons through empty space and teleporting everywhere when he fought me." She puts her index finger on her lips while she thinks about the difference in the fights.

"That is interesting. Maybe it was something like different fights for different fighting styles? He did throw his heavy spear through space and nearly pierced my skull. He only did that once and then he pulled out a scythe." That scythe was really scary. It almost feels like that it would have administered instant death had it even nicked me. That's just a feeling I had though.

"Hmm…so after you got here, you got challenged. Then you got soundly trounced and barely won the fight. I found you and carried you here." Are you trying to taunt me that badly?

"What about you, huh? You got here and was challenged as well. Then you built a failure of a camp. Why didn't you just keep going forward into another city? Scared of being caught again?" I give her a mocking grin of my own.

"Just wanted some peace and quiet for a bit. I was planning on entering the nearest city, which is R-City. I was confused when you said you wanted to enter D-City from here because that's just inefficient. You can just to Z-City through R-City and all you have to do is move forward." Ah, did I read the map wrong? It doesn't matter because it got shredded along with my bag.

"Ah, are you actually an idiot?" She smacked her fist in her palm as if she came to some conclusion about me. I don't wanna hear that from you! You can't even make a proper makeshift tent and you tried to start a fire without any wood! You think you can just make a spark with two rocks? Go crush yourself with one and see how that works!

Of course, I couldn't say any of that to her because I was pretty dumb there. How did I read that map wrong? She's so frustrating. That's it, I'm just going to lie down on the ground here and sleep.

"What are you doing?" Trying to purge my consciousness from the world to temporarily stop dealing with you.

"I'm playing the piano, what does it look like I'm doing? I'm tired from the long day I had, and I just want to rest." I tune out anything she says afterwards and just lull myself into a sense of security. That way I can finally send my mind into the sweet release of oblivion.

* * *

The sun is trying to peek through my eyelids. I open my eyes and nearly get blinded by that stupid bright ball in the sky. I try to sit up only to realize that my back is stiff and disjointed. That's why sleeping on the ground really sucks. Good thing all I need to do is just stretch out everything and get my body limber again.

I kick myself up and look towards another body sleeping on their side. Is this karma? Can I finally kick someone awake and interrupt their sleep just like what everyone has done to me? Has justice finally started raining down on me? I think to myself for a bit and sit back down waiting for the other person to naturally wake up. I understand how important sleep is, so I won't turn into an evil demon and destroy that.

What am I going to do while I'm waiting though…? Maybe I can practice using Haki? I think I have to put my will into it, or something like that. I did it on that very last attack, so I should be able to do it again.

I keep doing it for an hour, and I finally manage to cover my hand in Haki once more. It barely lasted for five seconds. When I attempt another successful try, I hear Shimi start to wake up. I look over to her with a little bit of annoyance.

I nearly had it! Oh well.

I let out a long sigh. "Hey, wake up sleepyhead." I walk over to her and start kicking her, like what she did to me yesterday. Then the air exploded in front of me and knocked me away. She wasn't lying when she said she was strong. There was a distortion in the air for just a split second and it activated whatever that was.

"What was that?!" I said while pulling myself together. She now fully comes into consciousness and looks at me flat on my ass. It winded me a bit, but it also disoriented my body. I'm nearly tripping over myself trying to stand up again and I eventually do it. That shit messed with my brain.

"One of my abilities. You shouldn't kick your boss like that. It's time to go R-City now." She just gets up and starts walking. Talk about focused…

R-City does sound a bit familiar. It wasn't mentioned in the anime or the manga I'm pretty sure, so webcomic? I wonder what interesting thing takes place over there? Well, whatever happens, we're probably going to get deep in there based on my bad luck. I'll follow her, for now I guess.

* * *

This wasteland is pretty empty save for the rare few trees strewn about. All that was here, was a dangerous encounter that nearly got me killed. I want to find more stuff like that. The feeling of exploring and adventuring is quite cathartic. It's also lonely, but that's being offset with this temporary companion. I'm the type of person to get lonely and delude myself into enjoying it. I'm just shitty at making friends and keeping them and I've learned to accept that.

Now that I'm in this world, I no longer have anything chaining me to my old one. I have nothing and care for nothing. My goal, the only thing that drives me forward is to fight and eventually surpass Saitama. Nothing else matters for me. In a way, this is the ultimate freedom I so craved for so long.

"Why did you choose to accept my invitation, and don't say it was because of a promise." Oh, she's talking? Well, what can I say? It really was mostly because of a promise that I didn't want to be held over me in the future. I take them very seriously. There was another minor reason though.

"Curiosity." What kind of person would be handcuffed like that, and why would they break out? There's a lot of mysteries surrounding her and following her should provide the answers to that. It should also stave off the onset of boredom until I reach Saitama. Before I do reach him, I need to figure out Haki completely.

"That's it?" I'm a very simple person. That's what I like to think. Those who make things needlessly complex are annoying, so I try to simplify and dumb things down as much as possible. Of course, through that I can lie through omission much easier as a bonus.

"What, you think there could be another reason? Don't look for something that's not there in the first place. You'll just end up confused over nothing. If you dig deeper and find nothing, you'll feel like a dumbass!" I'm not talking from experience. I swear.

She nods her head with a smirk. She must be thinking that something similar happened to me. The tactics of misdirection are unparalleled. All you gotta do is feed people meager amounts of information and have them come to a wrong conclusion. Loki has nothing on me!

I bumped into Shimi who stopped walking. I was about to question her, but then I looked over her shoulder and saw the outline of a large city. That must be R-City.

"What are you standing around for?" She looks a bit hesitant, then she turns to me.

"Don't we stand out a bit too much?" What do you mean, it's not like one of us looks like we've been through a tornado and the other looks like an escaped convict? Oh wait.

"Just look confident and no one will question you. Also break those stupid handcuffs already. You're basically begging for people to notice you." This usually works, or maybe we she can just put up a somebody else's problem field based on the magic-like shit she did to me earlier this morning. While I was thinking to myself, she starts walking in the city without me. I quickly chase after her.

"Wait up! Don't just leave your loyal minion like that." After I say that, she stops and repeats to herself the words 'loyal minion' over and over again in a strange tone. She turns to me and nods to herself twice. I feel like I've made a huge mistake somewhere.

"Yes, as my loyal minion you must look that part. Here, take some money and go replace your torn clothes." This money was definitely not acquired through legal and morally correct means. So, she wants me to get some proper clothes to look like a professional? I can do that, but my jacket must stay…

"I'm keeping my hoodie and getting it repaired. I can go get new pants though." She nods to that, and I walk off. I think I'm going to get some gray sweatpants. Loose clothing is definitely the most comfortable for me. I find a clothes store and walk into while thinking deeply.

Why does she want to start a group? She did say for world domination, but that can't be all. She's definitely not a bad person, but I don't think she's a paragon of good and justice. There's a tailor who can fix my hoodie in this shop. He's charging me an exorbitant fee, but I don't care as long as my hoodie gets repaired.

After he finished fixing it right up, I check out a pair of pants and leave the store. I then switch pants in the middle of the street. All you have to do is look confident and no one will question your strange actions. I was told this by a trustworthy guy, so it must be true.

I wonder where she went off to? I'll just explore the city while I'm searching for her along the way. I've come to realize that each and every one of these cities are pretty advanced compared to back home. There's also a very small percentage of crime, but that's been replaced with monster attacks.

* * *

So! Apparently, there's a Hero named Secret Mask around here. It's a good thing I read the wiki because I would have forgotten that Secret Mask was actually Sweet Mask before he took of the mask. I don't know how to actually feel about him. On one hand, he genuinely cares about citizens. On the other, he adamantly hates evil and he's too extreme about dispensing justice. He needs to be taught moderation.

Damn, there's a bunch of idols here trying out for a career. I guess this is the city where people come to be celebrities. I'm a little jealous of their good looks sometimes, but that's only because that's the type of pettiness I possess. Yeah right. I'm not a jealous or petty person at all. If I had time for that, then I could be using it for other things to better my life.

I duck into an alleyway and see a bloody monster and a masked man standing over it. He meets my eyes and then walks past me. He doesn't say a single word at all. I go to the monster's corpse and see how it got sliced apart. No weapons…my luck can't be this bad, can it?

Guessing that's Secret Mask I just ran into. The way he just casually ripped this monster apart tells me everything. He hates evil and ugliness, but he's blind to the line between evil and good. Genos was right to refer to him standing on the edge. I wonder what made him like that…?

"Might as well find Shimi…" I murmured. I think I've seen enough of this city. I should leave before I get caught up in another monster party again, but I actually want to get involved in another one. It helps protect people and it gives me enjoyment. Decisions decisions. I leave the alleyway and see a familiar lime-haired girl. Did she make some friends?

"Hey." I wave over to her and three others. Her eyes light up and she sees me and turns that perpetual unnerving grin over to me. That really makes my spine shiver a bit. One of the guys speak up, annoyance clearly present in his tone.

"Back off! We saw her first!" The other two nods to his declaration. Eh? Is this that kind of event? I've never seen this type of thing before, so I'm a bit curious. Of course, Shimi refuses to go along with the group and brushes past them over to me. Are you trying to make people get mad at me?! I know how to clear the tension.

"Hey bros. I heard that there was an interesting type of club over in that alley. There's some nice 'goods' if you catch my drift." I put my arms around their shoulders and huddle them up. I whisper to them about the type of amazing things going around when all they'll find is a decomposing monster. They all walk with a sense of purpose in their steps.

"My hero." Now to deal with the one who said that in a sarcastic voice. Looking at her eyes makes me feel mocked.

"Just how did you get into a situation where you were being hit on?" Those guys have some massive balls to even talk to her. She's kind of scary even to me. When I asked her that, she became confused?

"They were hitting on me?" She…didn't know? That's good. Real good! I can't hold back my laughter at this. A person like this who seems like they would be a good manipulator, can't even recognize social cues as simple as those?

"You want to achieve world domination, yet you haven't studied villainy 101? How naïve! You need to understand the minds of others before you want to rule the world." She becomes indignant at my mocking criticisms.

"As your boss, I order you to teach me how to rule the world." I stop laughing and become baffled. That sounds like the plot to a bad story. Teach the boss how to rule the world? I can't even go outside without stumbling into something ridiculous. I'm the living embodiment of Murphy's Law and she wants me to teach her?

"I'm sorry. You're actually really good. Just don't make me teach you." I plead with her because I know I'll screw something like this up. She accepts my halfhearted apology and rescinds the order like a gracious boss.

"Oh yeah, what's the name of the group?" It better not be something stupid like: Super Ultra Mega Cool Organization. I'll actually stage a rebellion it it's something like that. Her face fills with pride.

"**World End Dominators.**" Damn! That's a really good name. That has no complaints from me whatsoever. It's so badass that I nearly missed the connotation that the name has. Dominating the end of the world or dominating till the end of the world? Depending on which meaning it takes up, it changes a lot for me.

"That's a pretty good name. You must've put a lot of thought into this. So, where did you go when I went to go get some pants?" She looks at my choice in attire and looks back at me with a blank look. My face turns increasingly smug because I won't budge on this. Formal attire is not for me at all. She lets out an exasperated sigh.

"I got these." She pulls out two cellphones. Good thing they aren't iPhones, cause they're garbage. Why did she get them though?

"If we get separated, then we need to communicate. I've already configured yours and put my number in there." She hands me a white cellphone. I turn it on and check it out to see if it's similar to the phones back home. Thankfully it is, just more advanced. She put her number on speed-dial…

"Are we done in this city now? I need to head to Z-City." I'm so close and I just can't wait. My rubber body should actually be able to take at least one punch from Saitama. I wonder how much that'll surprise him. It'll be dreadful if he gets too excited and turns this rubber band into a rubber string…

She opens her mouth to speak, then alarms go off. I click my teeth when it announces multiple demon-level threats. I turn over to Shimi and I see an extremely harrowing face. That smile…is definitely not a kind one at all. I'm just about to jump on top of a building to search for monsters and to partly get away from her a bit, but she grasps my wrist tightly.

"They'll come to us." That's when I see a spectral thing above her take form. A strange scaly worm, almost like a dragon above her. It appeared for just a moment and disappeared. From what I saw of it, the thing had wings. I then sense monsters began to cluster around us. Did that alert them to us? I'll just deal with these guys first, and I'll end it quickly.

"**Gear Second.**" After that fight with Ogun, I'm pretty sure I have a good handle on this. Just need to practice more with it. I aim my fist at the group of monsters in front and blow their heads off with extremely fast Jet Pistols. I turn around only to see the others monsters blown away and sliced to pieces.

"I'm glad I made you my loyal minion. You're actually not bad at all." I'll take that compliment with pride.

It seems that the monsters are gone, so I let my steamy form settle. All of a sudden, the alarm goes off again, except this time it announces a dragon-level threat in the city. I then hear loud footsteps shaking the ground. Shimi jumps up on top of one of the buildings, and I stretch my arm up there and pull myself up.

"Godzilla?!" It totally looks like it. It's big as hell, and I hope it doesn't have that radiation breath or we're gonna have a problem. I see Secret Mask tearing into the beast's hide, but that won't be able to take it down.

"I'll leave this to you. Show me exactly what you can do." She says that with a curious smile on her face. All right, fine then. I'll take this Godzilla faker out in a single blow. I pull the sleeve on my right arm up to my shoulder.

I pump my legs to activate Gear Second, then I bite into my thumb and blow a large amount of air. Using Gear Second and Gear Third at the same time will definitely take a toll on my body, but I can't let this thing ravage the city. That's why i need to end it quickly for both my sake and the city's.

I stretch my gargantuan arm backwards. The gigantic dinosaur turns towards me with wrathful eyes and attempts to open its mouth.

"Gum-Gum…" It's charging something up. I need to take this thing down now. No time to enjoy a battle. There's a time and place for anything, so I'll definitely blow this bastard away. Any other time, I'd prolong the battle, or get more fun out of it before it ends. But now, I don't quite feel like doing that. It's not like I want to be a hero or anything. _I just..._

I feel my arm getting harder. So, this is Haki...time to destroy the enemy in front of me.

"**Jet Elephant Gun!**" I throw my arm at lightning speeds and blow right through the laser that the monster fired with my blackened fist. I take its upper head off with the fast strike and pull my arm back. I put my hands on my knees and catch my breath. Using those two Gears at the same time is pretty draining.

"Are…you okay?" I put my hand up and take a large breath in and breathe out. Now I feel much better, but was that hesitant concern I heard in your voice?

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was just tiring. Not used to doing that at all. Actually, that was the first time." Right then, Secret Mask comes in front of us. Wonder what this guy wants?

"That was a good job you did. You should join the Hero Association." He then takes off and does damage control around the monster's corpse. He's probably calling in assistance from other heroes. Talk about abrupt. He's not nearly famous idol he will be in canon. Maybe he'll get to that point sooner or later? I turn back to Shimi who has a curious look on her face.

"What's the Hero Association?" Oh boy. How do I explain it? Do I tell her my view on it, or what it's actually supposed to be?

"It's an organization created by some rich guy. It's made of a bunch of heroes called in to stop threats of varying levels. Heroes belong to one of four ranks, which exponentially increases in strength. They basically are the good guys who stop bad guys." I think that's a good summation.

"So, they're our enemies." That is not what I wanted you to take away from that. Although, considering we're aiming for world domination…that may not be entirely wrong. I've been playing the part of a good guy for a while, so it might be a nice change of pace to play the villain role. As long as I can still fight good fights, I don't think anything else matters, I think.

It's kind of interesting that she classed us as the bad guys though. Is she aware of how morally wrong her actions may be? Whatever, I don't need to care about such things.

"I guess so. I've resolved myself to see your goal through at the very least. As of this moment, I'm formerly your first member of the WED." I hold out my hand, which she really peers at..

"And I've accepted you as my first subordinate." She puts on a smile and we shake on it, and vow to take over the world.

"So, what's our next stop boss? I'd like to go to Z-City and train there for a bit. Three months should do nicely. Those Hero Association guys are actually extremely strong. They are the biggest threat to world domination." Gotta get permission while it looks like she's in a good mood.

"That's fine. As long as you message me daily about what you're doing. There're also some things I need to collect scattered around multiple cities. We'll meet up in A-City. I'll notice the moment you step in the city three months from now. Don't be late at all." She jumps off the building in a hurry. She's always moving like she's in a rush, but this is good.

Now I'm free to go to my destination. I'll train ridiculously hard, then I'll face down Saitama and see how that battle goes. First thing to do is leave this city immediately. I'll sprint over to Z-City in Gear Second. Exactly three months from now. I have to micromanage my time wisely here. Nonstop exercising for ten days, nonstop fighting and training for fighting for two months, and whatever time I have left will be to deal with Saitama.

The Hero Association isn't the biggest threat, he is. I will eagerly anticipate our battle with a hearty smile on my face.


	6. Training Arc Gone Wild

Chapter 6

"I've made it!" I turn off Gear Second and recuperate for about a minute. That's all that is necessary to get all my energy back now. I think I've completely mastered it by this point. I look around the city and decide to go grab a bite of something to eat.

Judging by where I am, I think this is the main part of the city. The majority of the monsters should be in the rundown part of town where Saitama lives. The Monster Association should be there as well, but I don't think I'm tough enough to deal with that garbage.

"Let's see…this is the residential district, so there should be a place to eat." The city is a pretty crowded place, just like the other cities I've been to so far. The park here is much smaller compared to the one in S-City, but people are just as happy as anywhere else in this world. People really do depend on heroes for their happiness.

Heroes…Villains. Justice and Evil. I don't really…

Ah, Found one. A nice little place that looks like one of those noodle stands. I enter the small place and the older guy sees me.

"What is it you'll be having?" He greets me gruffly. This place looks very homely and cozy. The seats are arranged in a straight line and the man is standing behind the counter waiting for my order.

"Just Udon. It's the best kind of noodles after all." I say cheerfully. I've gotten pretty hungry from that run. Gear Second really starves the body fast.

It's a good thing that I actually know how to use chopsticks. The owner readies the bowl and places it down. I pull apart the chopsticks and dig in with gusto. This is actually really good! The best Udon I've ever had. It reminds me…of home.

"That was really good." I drop much more money than what I actually had to pay and immediately leave the place. The man's attempts to call out to me are ignored. He probably wanted to give me my change back, but the food I just had is worth so much more.

"Hey." I greet a random person with a subdued tone of voice. That's no good. I need to hype myself up for training.

"Where's the ghost town located." He shakily points towards the direction where the buildings get more and more rundown and dilapidated. That's perfect. I grin in anticipation for the challenges that await me. I also ignore the person who calls out to me. If he's trying to warn me then I don't care. I'll throw myself into more battles for eternity if I have to.

"This place really is a ghost town." I say a bit amazedly. I wonder what caused this place to become so messy. I don't quite remember if that was expounded in the manga. There're already a couple monsters prowling around that noticed me.

"A human! Get him!" Making it easier by coming to me? Oh, you shouldn't have. All I need to do is lose myself in the haze of battle like usual. It's so easy because I don't that to think about anything else except for fighting.

* * *

In the middle of rundown streets there are a lot of interesting shaped beings being tossed around everywhere. Their bodies are broken and torn apart by a storm of chaos in the center. A man wearing baggy clothes is plowing through them with a smile on his face. A monster attempts to jump him from behind.

"S-spare me!" But when he sees the maniacal look on his face turn to him, those bloodshot and crazy eyes lock on him, he just pleads for his life. He had his head directly punched off. Wil starts to cool down after he blitzes all the monsters before they even had a chance to react.

"Those guys are too weak. Just one hit was all it took to take them all out. I need to find stronger guys." He run deeper into the messy ghost town with an eerily blank look on his face. The speed that which he switches between moods is illogical. "I don't…need to think about anything else."

He then stops once his phone begins buzzing in his pocket. He pulls it out and sees a message from the only person that has his number. He ignores it to find more monsters. A large monster with swords for arms jumps down from the sky in front of him.

"So, you're the newcomer." His bellowing voice rumbles through the streets as he points one of his sharp arms at Wil. He looks at the arm, and breaks it with a blackened fist. The monster tried to back away out of shock, but an outstretched fist blasted through his body leaving a large hole from the force.

"That's no good…" He murmurs to himself as he searches for more monsters to fight. He fights to get stronger and fights to forget. The adrenaline allows him to ignore everything that he truly needs to think about. He wobbles from side to side with a strange look on his face as he sees another monster in front of him.

It's a humanoid reptile with taut muscles all over its body. Wil covers his arms and legs with Haki and immediately rushes it. The Demon-level monster barely avoids his hardened fist by tilting its head to the side. The fist scraped its cheek and bloodied it. It attempts to pierce its claws through the human in front of it.

Wil catches the hand with his free one and slams his knee in its gut. He grabs its neck and stretches his arm through a building, disorienting the beast. It tries to take Wil's arm off of it, but he brings his arm and back and holds his other arm out, decapitating the reptile with a lariat.

The sun is starting to set, but he continues on. He finds himself in another wasteland.

"I must've run out of the city by accident…" He's about to turn back, but then his phone starts buzzing. He pulls it out and sees that Shimi's actually calling him. He debates to himself for a bit, then picks up.

"Why are you calling me?" He says with a curious voice. They agreed that they would message each other once per day, but they only separated today. Wil thought that the deal would start tomorrow.

"Just wanted to hear your voice."

"Huh?" Wil is immensely surprised by such a stupid excuse. He knows that isn't the reason for calling him. He's baffled and annoyed that his hunting spree was interrupted by someone who's beating around the bush like this. He immediately hangs up out of annoyance and begins to walk back to the city.

He then realizes something important. "I'm lost." He has no idea how to actually get back to the city. He doesn't remember what direction he took off in to reach this place. He's surrounded by nothing but dirt, hills, and mountains. A true wasteland that would be an amazing backdrop for a final battle.

"Isn't this where Saitama and Genos fought?" He talks to himself. He believes that this is where those two had that spar, but he's not entirely sure. He's debating whether he should walk in a random direction, or just sit down and try to remember where the city is. He then hears an extremely loud rumbling that causes a fissure to erupt beneath him.

"What?" He jumps over it before it splits the ground beneath him. He lands on top of one of the smaller hills and sees a rampaging golem in front of him. It's a mildly far distance away from him, but judging from its height and volume, it's definitely a dragon-level monster.

"This…this is exactly what I need!" He starts getting extremely excited and dashes off in its direction. Once he reaches a suitable distance away from it, he puts his hand on the tip of one of the mountains and moves back. He propels himself like a slingshot to reach the earthen golem.

"**Gum-Gum: Rocket!**" He gets close enough to the golem, and before he collides head first, he stretches his arms behind him. He rears up a heavy blow the slam into the back of the gigantic being.

"Armament." He turns his arms black to actually effect this thing. "**Gum-Gum: Bazooka!**" And he slams both of his palms into its side, only leaving a hole inside. The monster was pushed forward from the force of the blow.

"It's hard! That's great. It can actually survive a lot of blows. Entertain me more!" He lands on the ground as the monster turns behind him, but then the monster punches upward to destroy a large boulder falling on his head. It then starts glowing green and twists in on itself, before reverting back to a normal shape.

That isn't normal at all. That green glow around it seems like some psychic shit going on. Looking above me is a green glow…yeah that's Tatsumaki. I don't think she's noticed me yet…never mind she definitely did. It doesn't matter because I'm the one that's going to kill this thing. I put my thumb up to my mouth.

"What are you doing here?!" I ignore the banshee screaming above me.

"Gear Third." My right arm bloats up to the size of a giant. I force my Haki into it with all the strength of my will. Now that I think about it, my name is Wil. The pun is perfect. "Armament: Hardening." I stretch the gigantic arm behind me and add a spin to it as the golem is distracted by the flying midget.

"**Gum-Gum: Elephant Corkscrew!**" The twisting fist blows right through the center of the earthy golem, displacing its body all over the wasteland. Just when I thought I finished it off, the broken parts come back together to fuse into an even angrier monster. Why do I always get the monsters that literally counter my entire skillset. They're either regenerators, adapters, or they have spiky armor. Sometimes all of the above!

"Get out of the way already, idiot!" My arm shrunk back to its normal size and I evade the stomp made to flatten me into a pancake. I glare at this stupid, annoying monster that decided to be invincible. So, that's why Tatsumaki hasn't been able to kill it already. She twists its body into a pretzel, throws mountains at it, and it keeps coming back whole.

Oh-ho, I ain't done with you yet. I'll aim for the head this time with Gear Second Precision.

I vanish from the ground and reappear right in between of the golem's eyes. I rev up my body even further into Gear Second. I've always wondered what happened if I kept pumping my blood even faster than what Luffy did. The benefits are amazing, but the drawbacks are even worse.

"**Jet Gatling Gun!**" I blitz its head and pummel it into clumps of dirt. Even while it's trying to regen, I'm destroying it faster than it can bring itself back together. All I need to do is keep this speed up. It uses its right hand to grab my body and stop my blows. Right before it futilely attempts to crush my body, the Esper frees its grip from me with her psychic powers.

"Thanks!" I didn't need it, but gotta give thanks where it's due I guess. Just how am I gonna kill this thing… I just need to give it blows that it won't be able to recover from. An amazing idea just popped itself inside my head. This move could work.

"Hey Esper!" I call out to the S-Class hero above me. "Hold this thing still, I'm going to completely destroy it. Trust me on this. You can't finish it off, so leave it to the professionals!" I say all that with a grin on my face. That definitely riled her up, but she can't argue against it.

I pump my legs to activate Gear Second with steam pouring out of my pores. I shave high up into the sky, directly in front of the golem held in place my Tatsumaki's telekinesis and activate Gear Third in both of my arms. "Armament: Hardening!" Let's hope this move works…!

"Gum: Gum…" I keep sending gigantic blows, like a Gatling towards the beast. My arms start turning red with each time it pulls back for another punch. They both ignite and start burning through the monster, incinerating the parts it's trying to regenerate. "**Meteor Shower!**" An uncountable amount of burning fists rain down on the golem as it's reduced to burnt, muddy clumps on the grown.

I breathe out steam as my Gears turn off and I fall to the ground. I look up to see a yellow core glow green, then completely shatter to pieces. Oh, I thought it kept regenerating without a core. Didn't think that it had one of those. I should use my brain more when fighting, I guess. It's common sense that golems have cores that make them move.

I land on my feet with a hard thud that cracks the ground. If my body wasn't rubber, then I would probably hurt something from that fall. I invented a badass move there. I'm saving that in the brain bank for future use. I'm also going to copyright it to prevent future rubbermen from stealing that.

"You! What rank are you? What were you doing here? You know you were getting in the way of something I could have handled on my own!" Right when I was basking in the afterglow of a successful hunt, it was ruined by this reverse jailbait peppering me with words. She's now starting to insult me for my slowness when I don't respond to her instantly.

"Rank…? Oh, you mean for the Hero Association. I'm not with them." I wave my hand back and forth in denial. She's surprised momentarily, but switches right back to indignation. Talk about moody. Brash, moody, hotheaded, and impatient. Those four words sum up her personality best. Discounting rudeness, I don't think she's a bad person. Then there's the treatment of her sister. Okay, she isn't _completely_a bad person.

"If you're not a hero then what are you doing here?" What does it look like you midget…!

"Playing the piano, what does it look like I'm doing. I'm fighting to get stronger! That's the only thing that matters." Yeah…fighting is the only thing left that matters. No need to angst at all, just continue on the path for eternity. Or until I die, I guess.

"I see you're not a complete idiot." She responded in a tone that wasn't abrasive? Amazing. I thought she only had two settings: mad and on her period. She's actually very helpful for taking down monsters. She can hold them in place while I hit them with extreme prejudice. Another crazy idea just came to mind.

"Hey, give me your number." Right before she started to fly off, I called out to her. She looks back at me with shock and disgust. I feel like I'm being compared to someone that I really won't like.

"Why should I?!" At least she didn't immediately fly off. I'll be able to explain my amazing idea.

"We make a great team. You can hold things in place and I can finish them off! I'll call you if I ever need help and you can call me if you ever need help. It's a pretty good deal yeah? It goes both ways for us." She glares at me and then rises higher up. Right before she flies off I yell at her.

"I'll definitely get your phone number if it's the last thing I do!" I'm sure she heard that because she just instantly accelerated out of the wasteland. Ah, I didn't ask her the way back to Z-City. I don't know the way back, it's getting late, and I have no food.

"SUCH MISFORTUNE!" My scream of despair resonates with all who suffer the true pain of their own idiocy. Even monsters can understand one screwing up so badly it's like putting your finger on the stove just to see what would happen. You know what would happen, but you're so dumb that you do it anyway. It's nearly nighttime as well. Damn.

I spot a hill high up I guess this'll have to do. There's nothing to cover myself with, so I'll just take off my hoodie and drape it across myself like a blanket.

* * *

I wake up from sleeping on top of a hill. Alright this is bullshit, just how exactly am I going to find my way back. I managed to make a meal out of some monsters that attacked me. I cooked them by heating up my rubbery arms. Burnt monster meat tastes like shit and I think it nearly killed me from the taste.

I sit up and realize that my hoodie isn't with me.

"Did it get blown away...?" How did I not take into consideration that the wind would blow it away?! I'm such a dumbass. I need to pay attention to things some more. Or I can just make up for my mistakes by finding it. Oh, it didn't even blow that far away. It got stuck on the mountain's wall. Might as well put it on and find a way back.

I pull out my phone and look at it with desolation. I think I'm just gonna call her and see what she could do.

"What is it?" She picks up on the first ring. I could ask her to help me, but my dumbass decided to taunt her.

"I just wanted to hear your voice." I mimicked her voice with the best impression I could. Which was pretty shit because it sounded like a donkey trying to sex up a hippo. She sighs most likely in irritation.

"I'll hang up if that's all."

"No, wait! I'm sorry. I got lost in the wastelands and I have no idea how to get back to Z-City. There's no internet, so I can't access a map. I need you to send me one right now. I'll be able to find my way back with the inbuilt compass." Finding out that this phone came with a compass was a heaven-sent reward for someone like me. My sense of direction is piss-poor at best, and reaches the tier of Ryoga Hibiki at worst.

"Just what happened to you yesterday…never mind. I'll send you one, just give me a second." My phone buzzes, so I assume that she sent it over.

"Thanks, you're the best!" She seems to stop for a moment at that. She hangs up without saying anything. Talk about a weirdo. Now that I think about it, there're a lot of weirdos in this world. The biggest examples are literally everyone in S-Class. Actual freaks of nature are what they are.

I pull up the map and compare it to the compass.

According to the map and the compass, I just need to go west. Good thing I asked her because I was about to go east. Something very unlucky was due to happen, but I averted it. That means something else even worse in store is just waiting for me to spring…

"That's A-Okay!" I like dangerous things, I like fighting. I love things that just make your blood boil. I don't even remember why I decided to get this strong? Did I choose to get strong to save others or did I save others to gain strong? Everything is a jumbled-up mess, but I don't care about that. As long as I save others and fight strong opponents, then I never have to face my conflict.

"That's such a terrible mindset. It feels like all I'm doing is running away from the problem." I grimace to myself at my thoughts. I know it's wrong…but there's nothing else I can do.

I shake my head to forget about pointless thoughts. I've finally made it back to the outskirts of the city. The outskirts of the shitty part at least. I've fought demon-level threats, but now I want to fight a dragon-level threat on my own. That one with Tatsumaki doesn't count.

Saitama can destroy even the likes of Boros in a single punch, so I have to get much stronger that him. First step is taking down a dragon-level threat all by myself. There should be some wandering around Z-city because this place is a damn hotbed for monsters.

"So, you're the one who's been killing monsters yesterday…!" I turn around to see a blindingly bright being behind me. What's with all these monsters always being behind me?

"I am Supernova! Your end has come!" A bright laser beam blazes through where I was, and melts through multiple steel walls. This guy must want revenge, huh? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but a monster that desires the death and suffering of others. Just because you feel like a human doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like one.

"What's with that smile on your face. You think yourself my better? Allow me to correct that false notion." Right in the middle of his speech he instantly appears behind me and blasts another laser. It nicked my side and I force myself into Gear Second immediately. This time I appear behind him.

"Gum-Gum: Jet Pistol!" I missed…! I barely duck underneath another death laser. He's really fond of that method of attack. I need to engage him in melee, but I can't catch his speed even with Gear Second.

I pump my legs even more and steam flows of my body in higher quantities. My skin turns even more pink, almost a red color. I blur out of his vision and I grab onto his shoulder. I immediately let go because of how hot he is and he kicks me away.

"Ow!" The footprint seared itself onto my gut. This pain…I'll remember it good when it's time to pay him back. He really is like a supernova. He keeps throwing lasers at me and playing keep away. Just then…a thinner laser even faster than the others comes flying at me. It's on track to hit me.

It should have hit me, but I dodged somehow. Even this Supernova guy is surprised by that. I'll use the opening granted by that to blow him away!

"Jet Pistol!" It landed, but it still burned my knuckles. He got sent flying into one of the abandoned buildings and it collapsed from the impact. An immediate pillar of flame bursts through the wreckage melting through all the steel beams. I can't see his facial expression through the bright light his body is surrounded by, but I'm guessing he isn't too happy.

"I'll make you pay for the death of my comrades. I'll make you suffer!" He takes a horse stance and throws out a fist. An even faster white beam of light blows a hole in my shoulder, which I couldn't even find the speed to react to. I take to cover behind another building before he can chuck another one at me.

Multiple lasers blast through the building around where I was hiding. Luckily, none of them hit me. Strange for me to call myself lucky considering how I tempted fate for a fight like this.

Murphy heard my call again and came in the form of a laser blasting through my stomach. My eyes widen in shock and pain before I cough up globs of blood. I immediately turn off Gear Second because I don't want to increase the speed at which I bleed to death.

I can't make a sound. I have to hold in the pain. He doesn't know that he's hit me at all, but god damn does it hurt like a bitch. Something like that should have burned the nerves, but I still feel the pain. What a sadistic monster this thing is.

"I will continue to torment you. After your mind breaks from the hunt, then and only then will I grant you the most ultimate death." He definitely knew he hit me, but he wants to continue playing with me? It doesn't matter if I try to call out to him because he just vanished from the spot in motes of light.

That's the start of a long battle that tries to break me down over the course of two and a half months.

* * *

_Month 1: Day 12_

He's still hunting my ass down like a demented psychopath. At first, I felt a little sympathetic towards him because I thought he was chasing me for revenge. That was wrong. So very wrong. All he wants to do is just torture me. I try to catch him with speed and he evades it. He can beat back my strong Gear Third with something that proves his namesake.

He threw a large mini-sun at my Elephant Gun and offset it. Good thing that Haki can prevent his body from burning me. His lasers can still melt through it though. I can barely get any sleep, and I can only feed myself off of monsters. He even attacks me when I try to eat or sleep.

"LET ME PISS!" I scream at him with furious rage because I've been holding in this urge for three days now. I don't know if it was sympathy or pity, but he actually does listen to me. Except the moment I start relieving myself is when he starts up the hunting again. I'm so fed up with him that I aimed my stream of relief at his face.

The best part was that it hit him. The worst part is when his laser nicked my one-eyed snake. I've never felt such a soul-searing pain in my life before. So, this is what it feels like to suffer the pain of nearly getting my dick burned off. The rage I felt from moments like these allow me to power through my limited sleep to put up another fight.

Each time we fight, I get stronger and faster. Sometimes I can tag him, other times I can dodge lasers. I still can't dodge those lasers that I swear are approaching the speed of light. My hoodie has been burnt, ripped, torn, and battered by all the punishment he's given to me. If I was in perfect condition I may be able to take him down.

The biggest problem is that he never let's me get a full meal, a full sleep, or a full drink of water from the rain. I'm glad that it rains frequently around this time.

"How does it feel to be hunt down like a rat! This is what my people feel. We, the Monster Associations, are the heroes of the monsters, but villains to the humans!" A hero to one side is a villain to another…. I know that feeling all too well. Even if he is a monster, I can still understand where he's coming from. What I can't accept is that he will indiscriminately kill any human regardless of their alignment.

"I'll hunt down any monster like a dog if they terrorize humans! Don't screw with me about your fucked-up morality. All you want to do is make up an excuse for your so-called "justice," but I just can't stand that at all." Yeah, I played the part of the hero because I couldn't stand bad endings. To be honest though, I don't really care about stuff like good or evil, or hero and villains. I just…

I had to dodge another laser that came with a scream of rage. I must've hit a really sore spot with that jab. I guess he realizes his own hypocrisy, but continues on anyways? That's one thing that I won't let go at all.

That's no good. That's no goddamn good at all!

I bite into my blackened forearm and breath in air. Supernova just waits there with some condescending curiosity. My left arm starts expanding rapidly and steam covers my entire body. I'm just following my instinct on this. Steam takes the shape of a snake behind me as it covers my body.

I stop blowing in air and the steam shrouds my body around my shoulders.

My Haki takes on a red hue as it spreads across my arms further ending in a flame-like shape. My hair rises up like a fire and my eyes focus on the monster with a glare. I'm bouncing on the ground in a typical rubbery fashion.

"**Gear Fourth: Snakeman!**" This is what I need to catch this slippery shit. I pull back my arm into a cannon shape and prepare to fire it.

"**Gum-Gum: Jet Culverin!**" My right arm rockets out at his face, which he evades by tilting his head to the side.

"Was that all you—" He's interrupted by the same fist coming at his other face smacking him extremely hard through a building. Multiple lasers fire out of the rubble, which I manage to evade. I couldn't dodge his sudden appearance before me though.

He puts his hand on my back and blasts another laser through it. I'm straining to keep my Gear Fourth up, but I manage to launch another **Python** at him that knocked him away. I use the enhanced mobility granted to me by Gear Fourth to get away from him.

I run into a building that I know for sure he didn't see me in, and I close my eyes to finally rest a little bit.

_Month 2: Day 20_

The more I get closer to beating him, the further it feels I get. Whenever I face him I always end up having to run away. I hate it. I can't stand it. I need to eventually find a way to stop him but how? Maybe I'll piss on him again…? Hopefully I'll hit him in the mouth. These battles are taking a toll on my sanity and I feel like I'm getting closer to breaking.

But when I think about how he wants to kill me and every single human in the world, my spite keeps me going. This has been a very misfortunate training arc for me. It's nighttime right now and there's a full moon. I'm not going to run anymore even if I die. I don't fear death. What I truly fear is the meaning of it.

I'll never feel joy or experience happiness again. I'll never think again. I'll never fight again. I'll never save again. I need to face everything this night and see where the wheel of fate turns.

"So, you've stopped running. I think I've been waiting on this dish for far too long!" He has a demented perseverance to him. He's been chasing me this whole time and his excitement hasn't dimmed in the slightest. I immediately activate Gear Fourth.

"**Snakeman.**" This is all I can do. The other two forms aren't quick enough to hit him at all.

"Is that all you have for me? No other fancy tricks? Cause if that's all you got, then you're gonna die!" I'm going to go all out from the very beginning. He starts to rush me as I jump in the air. I pull my arms back and launch them at rapid speeds all around the terrain and buildings around us.

"**Gum-Gum: Black Mamba!**" The fists bounce around him and not even he can dodge all of them. He's peppered by extremely hard fists coated in Haki. He's letting out grunts as he launches lasers that bounce the fists back, but that bounce makes them accelerate even faster.

He takes a horse stance and launches a high-speed laser through my gut again. That sends me out of Gear Fourth. I just don't have the stamina to keep up anymore. I haven't had anything to eat or drink for four days now, and he's been hunting me with extra fervor. I think he's gotten tired of this and wants me completely dead now.

But I won't give in. Not here, not now, and not ever!

I stand up even my tired and battered body. He gets angry at my show of resolve against him. What he wants is complete and total submission. He's not getting any of that from me. I'll either take him down and survive, or take him down with me!

Gear Second, Third and Fourth won't work, so all I can do is resist him with everything I got…!

"Y-you dare stand up against me like that!" He stammers out of sheer fury. His body starts glowing and he changes shape. I nearly forgot he was a monster…. He changed shapes from something humanoid to a big white ball of destruction. Like a white-hot star it tries to blast through me and what's behind me.

"What's behind me…?" I look behind me for a second and notice that we've somehow gotten closer to the residential district. If I dodge it, then he'll kill a lot of people.

"Then I'll stop you here!" The ball charges me and I hold my hands up. I can't even muster up the energy to use Haki, but I'll stop it no matter what.

The mini-sun crashes into my hands I hear the sound of meat burning. It smells really bad. I wince in pain as a strengthen my grip on it. It's heavy and it burns. Even though it's nighttime, the brightness makes it feel like morning.

This sun eclipsing the moon behind it…I'll stop it here. I grip on to the ball extremely tight, ignoring the burning. I prepare to throw it as far away as possible and pull out a final struggle against it.

I hear a loud sound and the ball is shattered into nothing. The monster didn't even have a chance to speak before it died. I turn around to see an expressionless bald man who looks like he doesn't fit in this world.

Saitama's fist was extended in front of me. He's the one who punched that ball of fire and gas to nothing.

"Some monsters are annoying, aren't they." He says that blandly, as if he's just talking about the weather. So…this is Saitama's strength. I really can't stand up to him at all, if I nearly got toasted by that thing. I guess I was lucky that he was here. If he wasn't then I would probably uselessly struggle until my body gave out.

"How dare you save my prey…" He's still not dead?! No wait, he's just holding on to the last vestiges of life. He's nothing more than an echo of the sun now. I slowly and weakly walk up to its burnt body. I look at it with cold, pitiless eyes filled with some modicum of understanding.

"I don't hate you, but I definitely don't like you. You think of me as a monster, and I think of you as a monster. Whoever's right doesn't matter. There, I've said my piece. Now hurry up and go on to the afterlife you idiot. I wish you the best, I guess." I don't know if I wanted him to live or not. I guess they call this Stockholm's Syndrome?

Choosing between getting stronger or saving people is very difficult. I don't know what I chose originally, so how can I make a decision without remembering? All I know is that I'll extend a helping hand to anyone who needs it. Bonus points if it helps me get stronger, I guess.

I go over to Saitama who looks to be walking away. "Hey, wait up Saitama." He turns to me with that same blank face.

"You know who I am?" He doesn't sound to surprised. Are his emotions really that dull on the inside? The only thing that can give him passion is a good fight…but I can't do that.

"Yeah. You're the hero for fun. You're also extremely strong. Thanks for the help. Dunno if I could have survived that fight. Hey, can I crash at your place?" I need somewhere to sleep, and he should be nice enough to let me stay.

"Sure." He just nods his head and walks off. I guess that means I'm free to follow him? I wonder if he'll let me use his bath.

* * *

Will followed Saitama to his apartment. Saitama opened the door to it and left it open for Will behind him. He wobbles on inside and immediately collapses inside face-first. Saitama scratches his cheek for a second then picks him up.

"Guess I need to roll out another futon."


	7. Misfortune Overload

Chapter 7

Ugh, where am I, and can I get the number on the train that hit me? I rub my face with both of my hands in exhaustion from the past two months. It's quite aggravating that I got myself pushed to the very limit by only a Dragon-level threat. At least I think it was based on it's speed and power. Of course, it had to be Saitama who saved me.

It bothers me. The fact that I'm not even close to his level of power bothers me a lot. I guess the only way I can go is up. I need to get even stronger. I need to master Gear Fourth and use everything I have to put up a fight against Saitama. People get stronger when they face adversities, right? I think I'm going to challenge Saitama everyday until the end of this month. Gotta go meet up with Shimi again soon.

Wait…wasn't I supposed to call her every day? Shit. I look over to Saitama who's just staring at me with those soulless eyes.

"Oh, you're up?" He asks like he wasn't staring at me throughout my entire sleep. Goddamn that was creepy. Never do I want to see that again.

"Can you not stare at me like that? It's kind of weird." He blinks both of his eyes. He just looks so unnatural in this world. So…untextured. I do feel bad that he lost his hair though. Maybe he can get himself some hair growth formula? I pull out my phone and see a lot of missed calls and unread messages. I grimace when I open the last one.

I'm scared to call her back. I feel like I'll lose my soul if I do so, but I probably should face my fears and just do it. But not now. I need to sound like I was busy and tired and I just remembered to call her. How can I fake exhaustion when my body has already recovered…? I got it!

I turn and look at Saitama so quickly that I would have snapped my neck if it wasn't made of rubber. "Fight me!" I challenge him to a battle. He seems a bit surprised at it.

"Why should I?" That's right…why should he. I'm nowhere close to his strength, so I have to use him to get stronger. It'll be like facing the CPU on level nine in Smash Bros. I'll keep getting closer to his level and then I will finally give him an amazing battle worthy of igniting his passion once more!

"I want to get stronger and you're the only person I can ask to help me with that." I said it in less than twenty words, so it should be substantial. He rolls his head around a bit as if he's thinking extremely hard.

"Fine, we'll spar then. I know a good spot." Alright! I'm actually getting really excited. I'm feeling so good that my injuries are already gone. My clothes are messed up, but that's no reason to miss the perfect chance to fight the world's strongest. Too bad I don't know where King is, so I'll have to settle for second best. Definitely going to keep up that running joke for as long as possible.

"So, where are we going?" We exited his house, and Saitama dressed in that superhero outfit. Caped Baldy extraordinaire. He just points forward, like he thinks I have the eyesight of an eagle. I pull out my phone and check the time. It's only eight in the morning, so I got a lot of daylight and energy to spare. I'll burn it all in this battle. Just you wait Saitama, I'll hit you yet!

* * *

"Why can't I hit you?!" He's so fast. I can't even see him move when he dodges my attacks, and he's not even taking me seriously. I feel like Genos right now. Ever since fighting Supernova, it feels like that I'm getting made into a joke. Is this what it feels like to be made into a jobber? Unacceptable. I refuse to be a Gilgamesh.

"That's it!" I'm using this chance to get stronger, so I'll hit him with everything I got. I bite into my blackened arm and blow air into my muscles. I'll activate Gear Fourth in the regular state.

"**Boundman!**" He seems to be surprised by the form my body took. It does look weird. To be honest, I don't like using Gear Fourth because of how much it changes my body. Is it wrong for me to dislike a transformation because it makes me look weird? It doesn't matter right now. I bounce one more time and I charge straight at him with surprising speed.

He can probably dodge it easy, but for some reason he wants to take this attack head on. I pull my fist back for a strong punch…

"**Gum-Gum: Kong Gun!**" And I hit him right in the center. He didn't even attempt to block it. I blow him through multiple hills and then he finally stops on the sixth one. He jumps back to where I am with no injury to show for it.

"Hey, that was a pretty good punch. You look weird, but it's strong." Those compliments only hurt my soul, you know.

"Hey Saitama. I want you to hit me with a punch. I need to know how far I am away from you." I want to know if my rubber body can take a punch. He obliges me and punches me with speed that I couldn't even see it coming. He most likely held back, but I couldn't think of such things because I was being blown through the air. I stopped in midair and bounce to him feet first.

The only reason why I hit him was because he was actually surprised that I took a punch like that. I'm surprised to, but I guess my rubber body nulled most of the damage. He'll have to hit a lot harder than that to take me down.

"**Gum-Gum: Rhino Schneider!**" I blast my feet in his face and he doesn't move at all. Last time he let himself be swept up by the blow, but this time he locked himself on the ground. I was so surprised that my jaw nearly dropped. So, this is his strength. He's absolutely invincible.

The problem with this fight, is that I can take damage, but I can't dish it out all that well. Saitama is just too durable to even hurt, and if he wants to, he can just dodge everything I throw at him.

Hey Saitama." He looks at me with a contemplating look on his face. "I'm going to hit you with the strongest attack I have. So, I want you to hit me a little harder than that." I don't give him a chance to respond as I bounce into the air and charge up another Kong Gun. Except this time, I blow air into it.

"Gum-Gum…" I bounce downward with lightning speed and put my fist out. He punches directly at the center of my fist. "_**King Kong Gun!**_" The impact between the two fists breaks the ground and shatters the mountains around us. More steam comes out of my body from the sheer strain I'm putting on it. I keep shooting myself through the air to keep the momentum going.

Of course, I couldn't win at all because he blew me back fist and all. He sent my ass flying through the clouds with a shocked look on his face. I eventually come falling down, but I grasp my arm once I hit the ground back-first. He punched me out of Gear Fourth...

"I didn't mean to send you flying like that! Um…my bad?" I wave my hands to assuage any worries and concern from him. I hurt my arm with that maneuver a bit. It's not enough to completely put me out of the fight, but that's not enough. I need to make myself so tired and exhausted, that Shimi will have no choice but to accept my excuses!

I glare at Saitama with renewed vigor that he just takes in stride. I'm going to put my life on the line for the sake of this battle. I can already feel the adrenaline pumping, and I'm not going to let this feeling go easily.

"Saitama! If you seriously face me seriously, then I'll seriously give you ten thousand yen, for serious!" The lure of money made his eyes shine. All of a sudden, the posture in his body changed. He straightened up, his eyes narrowed and sharpened and his muscles could be seen through the suit. That's what I like to see.

"I can take your punches so don't worry about killing me. Maybe you can even give me a serious punch?" I immediately activate Gear Second and dodge the punch that I saw coming somehow. It's not Observation Haki, but something else I used to dodge that attack. It's not the first time that's happened either. Saitama eyes widened just the tiniest bit, then he immediately appeared in front of me.

"**Consecutive Normal Punches.**" Those words fill me with dread and excited anticipation.

I was attacked by a tornado, no, a hurricane of fists pelting my body with the weight of mountains. My rubber body can take these punches, but that doesn't mean I'm completely invulnerable to blunt attacks. He attacked so fast, that it was like stopped time.

Once he finished, I was knocked back, but then I lean forward and dig my hands into the ground to stop myself from crashing. I grit my teeth so hard it felt like they would break. I definitely felt those punches good. That's amazing! Really good!

"Gum-Gum: Jet Pistol!" I Shave behind him and only punch through empty air. I then notice a shadow behind me, which I cartwheeled to the side to get away from. My efforts helped me dodge a lax punch he sent through with little effort. Again, I see his eyes widen just the smallest bit.

I think he's going to start putting my effort into hitting me.

I notice him in front of me, but I don't have the speed to dodge it…! He nailed me right in the stomach and blasted me towards a mountain peak. The peak toppled and fell down the mountain. I need more speed, so I'll risk everything.

"**Gear Second: Overdrive.**" This is something that I thought up. Luffy only needs to pump his legs at most twice to get the blood flowing fast enough for Gear Second. So, then I thought, why don't I pump my legs more than that. Say, about ten times. What I got for my actions was a heart beating so fast that it feels like it's going to explode and hearing the sound of my blood flowing like a raging river through my body.

I'm in a state of hypertension and hyper-focus right now. I strain my eyes as much as possible to catch of glimpse of a white and yellow shadow. I tilt my head to the side with as much force as possible to dodge a fist coming behind me out of nowhere. I slam my elbow into Saitama's chest with blinding speed and knock him off of the flat mountain peak. Like this I can keep up with him, but only for one minute.

Let's see what happens when I go over that one-minute mark!

* * *

I went over the one-minute mark, and Saitama is carrying me over his shoulder right now. I only managed to hit him three times in that state, but now I'm just too exhausted to even twitch my fingers right now.

"You're pretty fast." Was the compliment he gave to me before he knocked me straight through the ground with enough force to cause a 1-mile long fissure. Even with this rubber body, I felt the force of that blow. Still not a serious punch, but maybe a bit more than a normal punch hopefully. This is just the first day though.

I'm going to be doing it every day until the end of this month. Even he gets annoyed with me, he cannot deny the taste of money. He'll finally be able to afford foods without depending on bargain sales. That kind of lure is enough of a motive for Saitama to fight me. I'll use the danger of battle to force my body beyond its limits and defeat him eventually!

More importantly, that fight was really fun. I could just let loose without worrying about anything. I just entrusted my body to the flow of battle and actually managed to dodge some of Saitama's attacks. The only other person who was able to do that was Garou when he fully awakened as a Monster.

I tap Saitama's back to let him know that I'm good enough to walk again. He drops me and I land on my feet a bit wobbily. I hand him ten thousand yen and his eyes light up with excitement. This was a pretty good day so far. I fought an extremely fun battle and pushed my limits to the max.

All of a sudden, my phone rings. I pull it out with shaky hands and look at the caller ID. I lick my suddenly dry lips in fear and I hesitantly pick up. Well, this _was _a good day so far.

"Y-yo." The other side is void of noise. It feels like the bell of death will toll for me if I don't say something else.

"I was fighting for my life ever since the last time I called you. I barely lived, but I got stronger!" My exhausted voice manages to have some cheer forced into it at the end. I hope she'll take that as an excuse. Saitama looked to me for a second, pocketed the money, and carried on as I followed him back to his apartment.

"Am I bad person…?" Ooookay? Way to open up with something random like that. Just how am I supposed to answer it? With honesty? It didn't even sound like that question was meant for me.

"Nah, you're not a bad person at all. If you can put up with me, then you're definitely not a bad person." She lets out a breath she was holding in.

"We'll talk about proper protocol when we meet up in ten days." I really don't like the sound of that. "For worrying me, you have to be the one to call me for the next ten days every day. If you slip up again…" She leaves the last words for me to fill in mentally. I worried her? I must've misheard. What type of person would care about someone like me?

"Yeah yeah, I promise to follow through on our deal this time. Bye." This time I hang up. I don't know why she even took me in as her subordinate. All she's going to get for her troubles is a nice heaping of misfortune.

"You done with your friend?" he says emotionlessly.

"Yeah. By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I know of you, but you don't know me at all. I'll start with my name, which is Wil. I'm a guy who looks for fun fights and saves people if I can." We continue walking as we make small talk.

"I'm Saitama. A hero for fun." A hero for fun….

"Are you really having fun?" I blurted out that one question, which stopped him in his tracks completely. He continued walking, and didn't respond to my question. Shit, did I mess up somewhere?

"I'm going to get some groceries. Open the apartment for me." He throws me the keys, which I catch. We split up here. It's a good thing that a remember where his place is even though I was barely conscious walking over there. Let's see…it's should be on the left side of the ghost town and a little close to the residential district.

I jump on a building and spot the huge apartment building in question. What's the number to his place again…? Might as well try every single door if I don't know. Wait, maybe there are nameplates…there are none! This is gonna suck….

* * *

"Ah. What are you doing outside here?" Saitama met me the moment I finally found the place. It was literally the last door I checked, and he has the nerve to ask me what am I doing outside here? I turn around and look at him with deadened eyes.

"You didn't tell me which room was yours…" I say that with a mournful tone. My spirit is broken and my day is ruined because of this. I had to manually check every single door, and I was contemplating smashing the entire apartment to pieces.

"Oh, my bad." I hand him the key with a sigh and he opens the door. Giving this room a second look over really tells me how small it is. It's probably extremely cheap as well. I see Saitama come out of one of the rooms with empty bags. I guess he's put the groceries away. Ah, that's right.

"Hey Saitama, give me your number." He looks at me and tells me the number as I put it in. I named him Hero of Baldness in my contacts. That's the second person there. My goal is to put at least ten people in my contacts list. Back home, I didn't even have five people in there. What a sad life I lived.

"I'm surprised you gave me your number like that." He answers my unspoken question with something surprising.

"Well, you're not a bad person, and I barely use my phone to begin with. You even gave me money." I bet that's the biggest reason. What a stingy guy. He doesn't even pay for this room because the apartment is abandoned. Meanwhile, I have to stay on the streets and bum at people's places because I don't have the proper papers to actually buy a place to live.

Is there a way to increase someone's luck?

"Saitama…you're really lucky." My words are almost as dead as my soul. Empty and devoid of hope to be free of bad luck. I will always suffer the plague of misfortune even till my next life and the life after that. I am cursed to wander the planes of existence, suffering bad luck for all of eternity.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Even he's a little creeped out by my subdued posture. I guess I'll tell your fortune for you.

"Saitama, do you want me to tell your fortune? It'll be for free." Just mention anything free and he'll perk up instantly.

"Will I fight anyone strong?" Oh yes, this is an easy one. I got you right here easy.

"You will. There are some enemies that you'll defeat in one punch, but there are two very exceptional enemies that you will face in the future. The first one will survive multiple punches from you and make you get a little serious." His eyes light up at this.

"Now the second one…oh boy. This monster guy will actually dodge your attacks multiple times like I barely did. He'll make you a little serious as well. He even survives the fight with you!" I know that gave him hope, but he'll only find disappointment. Just like my soul.

"Do you know when I'll fight those two?" He's still taking it with a grain of salt, but people like to have hope. Even Saitama likes to dream of fighting people who can make him bleed and ignite his burning passion for a adrenaline-filled battle once more.

"Hmmm…in about 10 months from now. Yeah, around that, you'll fight the first guy and the second guy will come a little bit later after that. They're both monsters though, so don't go staring at random people and begging them for a fight. You'll get charged for sexual harassment."

"Just want kind of person do you think I am?" A man with a battle boner. Except that boner is suffering from performance issues. One who needs to find a really hot battle to ignite his flames of passions once more.

"Fan the flames of youth, Saitama!" I shot those words randomly out of my mouth out of randomness. I just felt like I had to say those things. Saitama is now a little put off by me.

I always screw up with people. I'm just no good with socializing or making friends. Even if I somehow make a friend, my bad luck distorts it. The only person I can maybe consider a friend is Bad. Shimi's a bit weird…okay a lot weird and I only just met Saitama the other day. Actually, now that I'm feeling better…

"Hey Saitama, you up for a little sparring match? I've only gotten better from the last one."

"But it's only been an hour?" Okay, and? I want nothing more than to fight fight fight forever! The only thing holding me back is the human body having the ability to become tired. "Plus, I need to go beat up monsters. I'm gonna do that now."

He immediately leaves in his hero outfit, while I just chill here despondently with nothing to do. "You could have at least taken me with you…" I murmur with grief. I'm so damn bored and there's nothing to do. That's why I have to find something to do on my own!

I'm revived with a burst of passion coming out of nowhere. I'm going to capitalize on my rejuvenation and hunt down monsters as well! The moment I jump through the doorway and onto the ground, a signpost falls on me, which I immediately evade.

"Are you kidding me." Is this a warning, or a prelude to the despair waiting for me? It doesn't matter what awaits me, I'll face it head on like I always do. There's nothing that can scare me now.

* * *

"I'M SCARED!" I regret my arrogant words earlier. Right now, I'm being chased by a green phallic shape monster with tentacles coming out of it. It has a mouth right below the…you know and it's chilling in a wheelbarrow rolling after me. It's spitting acidic white globs of…unknown substances and it can go intangible whenever I try to hit it.

I know that I can hit it at the moment it tries to attack, but that requires me being touched by it. I wanted to go out and fight epic battles for the fate of the world. Not run into literally Mara from Shin Megami Tensei rolling after my ass. Do I take the initial L to secure the W, or do I continue running away?

I know! I'll call Saitama. Whatever he decides I should do, I'll listen with no regrets.

He picks up on the fourth ring. "Yeah? Who is it?"

"Don't act like you don't know it's me. You probably don't have anyone else other than me on your list of contacts. I can tell what a loner looks like after spending my whole life of being one." I unintentionally insult his social life.

"I'm hanging up." Oh shit, he's mad!

"Wait! I need you help. I'm being chased by a penis monster and I want to know if I should touch it or not." I left out a lot of details, but that should be substantial enough for him to know the proper course of action.

He hung up!

I'll definitely remember that Saitama! I don't have a memory like the characters made by Telltale Games, but I'll definitely remember that!

I slide to a stop and turn around readying an Armament fist when I see the thing launch itself out of its wheelbarrow headfirst. I let loose a battle cry of anguish as I slam my fist into the tip. This is true pain…my misfortune. It's running at maximum power today.

I continue hunting monsters for two hours just to get that memory out of my head, but the feeling and the sounds won't go away. I can see the moment it was seared into my eyes. That will stay with me forever. The squishing...the spurting. I just want to run into a wall and knock myself out, but if I do that, then I'll wake up with vomit all over me.

I finally made it back to the apartment. Saitama...

My eyes turn bloodshot, and my breathing gets heavier.

"Saitama! You abandoned me when I needed you most!" I open the door and yell at the lazy baldy laying on his side on the floor watching TV. He turns to me with disdain in his eyes. You thought I was joking about the surprise cockfight? I pull out my phone and show him a picture of that God-level threat.

"Oh…" He covers his mouth and goes green in the face. He looks to me as if to ask what happened to it. I close my eyes and clench my teeth as I remember how I finished it off. I blew through the front…entrance and left a hole in the back, emptying out it's insides with one punch.

Saitama closes his eyes and grieves for my lost innocence. Both of us promise to do our best to forget that incident.

"So, did you fight anything strong?" I ask even though I already know the answer. I would feel bad, but he abandoned me to potential sodomy.

"Everything ended in one punch again." The despair I feel even from here is immense. Or is it just all-encompassing boredom?

"I really feel for you. You can never feel the passion of going all out in a battle, breaking bones and bleeding all over the place. Never again surpassing your limits and grinning in the face of death, facing against a certain loss, but somehow coming through." I attempt to "empathize" with him, which only made him look at me with envy. I grin at his jealousy and revel in it!

Saitama's kind of fun to mess with once you get some of his tells down. He likes being a cheapskate and lazing around. He gets annoyed when I hog the television and eat all his food. I do pay him back for the food, so all he can do is meaninglessly grumble at me while taking my precious yen that I have in spades.

"Hey, Saitama…what type of women do you like? There's a rumor going around that you like the loli tsundere type." The moment I whimsically say that, he sits up and _looks _at me. Sorry bud, but I gotta press you on this. I need to know if you're a man of justice or a man of culture.

"I look at their personality." Oh-ho! I didn't expect you to be such an expert bullshitter. It's a shame that you're looking at the master of the art right now. I can see through your façade!

"Don't lie. Let me know where your passions lie. If you say something stupid like the eyes, then I'll gouge out every single woman's eyes." Hold on a second. "It can't be…that you like men, right?" I actually take a moment to seriously consider this. Let's see...he hangs around King, Genos, Sonic, Bang, Charanko, i think he befriended Garou or at least came to an understanding with him...?

My eyes widen in shock as I make exaggerated movements fleeing towards the door while i cover my ass with both hands.

"Let me stop you right there!" He grabs onto my shoulder preventing me from moving any further. "I won't let you spread anything dangerous." But you're still not going to tell me your preferences?

We sit back down around the table watching TV. I start laying on my back reading some manga. It's Shonen Jump, and Hiatus x Hiatus is actually finished! This is the greatest timeline. I don't think I want to go back to my world now. I gotta check if Berserk is done now.

"There's a serial killer out?" Saitama questions blandly. I sit up and look at the TV. Well, this was unexpected. Apparently, they're wandering across multiple cities and it's unknown if it's a human or a monster. I wonder if he'll try to catch that guy, or if he only focuses on monsters. He turns to me with curiosity in his eyes.

"What about your preferences?" Curious about my types, are we? Don't worry Caped Baldy, you're not on there.

"I really don't have any types." I click my tongue in annoyance. If I run across that murderer, I'll give them a piece of my mind and shatter their will to kill people.

"I've never been attracted to anyone, man or woman in my life. I just never had that spark, you know? I'm a super virgin who's never been in a relationship except for the one with my right hand. Except we're in a long-distance relationship at the moment. I scratch my cheek with a mock-embarrassed look on my face.

"Too much information." He does a t-pose with hands signaling me to stop. Aw man, I was even gonna talk about the best kind of porn! My fetishes are of the depraved kind. I start grinning with a menacing smile on my face. "You stop that right now." My body immediately stop, but my mind continues working.

"My relationship status is brethren fore wenches." I say proudly. I catch the pitying look Saitama sends to me. "Hey, what's that look for?" He shakes his head.

"I don't like what you're thinking."

"It's just…so sad." I'm starting to get a little irritated. You're definitely making fun of me, aren't ya?

"The only thing sad is your hairline, oh wait, you don't have one." I see him twitch.

"Hey chrome dome, you wanna boil some eggs for me?" I ask him with pure innocence in my voice. He's getting closer to snapping.

"Your superhero name will be…Caped Baldy!" That got him.

"Shut up!" I start busting a gut because he's super sensitive about his hair loss. He's only twenty-four at this point, but he looks like he's in his forties because of his baldness. Something so pitiful shouldn't be so hilarious. It's like laughing at someone who stepped on a Lego.

Wait that might be a little too far.

"Hey, Saitama." He makes some strange noise to let me know he's listening. "You went a bit easy on me during our fight. I want you to treat me like a monster the next time we fight. I need to get stronger. Strong enough to actually beat you." I hope my countenance is enough to convey how serious I'm being. All he does is nod his head.

I can't be treated like a normal human being. Not with this cursed body. I haven't even tested the effects of seawater on me. What'll it take for Saitama to hit me with a serious series punch? Maybe I can bribe him with more money, but he'll still hold back. As long as I'm human…

The only thing inhuman about me is my own luck. I swear I was born under a star of misfortune.

"I'm gonna step outside." I call out to him before leaving the room. I feel like my potential is going to hit a ceiling soon. It's already evening…

"Maybe I should go hunt down some extra monsters, but that won't really do anything for me. I need to go after some dragons." I mumble to myself. But it's not like I can randomly find a dragon threat randomly lying around, now can I?

Wait…aren't there some Monster Association goons chilling at that power level?

I know I said that I didn't want to tussle with them yet, but there's no other choice. I'm going to throw myself at them, then I'll throw myself at Saitama tomorrow. I just gotta find that hidden sewer entrance.

* * *

Wow, I actually found it that quickly. I'm a person devoid of luck, so this boss rush is definitely going to hurt me badly. What's the saying again…no pain no gain, right? I jump down the hole and into a tunnel. I guess I gotta walk along here and there'll eventually be some monsters to face me.

I hear the sound of growling and I immediately turn around to see Overgrown Rover staring me down. So, this is why I found the secret entrance so quickly. It's because I'm misfortunate enough to drop right in front of the most durable monster they have. He's fast as well. I guess I'll take him on and destroy this entire place while I'm at it.

He's supposed to only attack once he's been attacked, but for some reason he's in an enraged state. He's already baring his teeth and buckling his legs. I stare at him with a gleam in my eyes and a grin on my face. When people face monsters, they usually feel fear when they are weaker, or contempt when they are stronger. All I feel is excitement and the pure desire to fight until I can't anymore.

I always face every monster like it's my last because I don't care if that battle will be my last. All I need is the fight itself, not the victory or the loss. That's why I can face every monster, even the Dragon-level threats with no will, only a push that leads me into more and more battles. Whether it's my misfortune guiding me from conflict to conflict is of no concern to me. All I have to do is face the conflict head on.

Results...are unnecessary.

"**Gear Fourth: Snakeman.**"

* * *

_B-City_

A person covered in blood is struggling to walk in the alleyways. She's holding on to the side of the wall just to keep her balance. She looks at her hands to find them shaking. "Hahaha…I'm so fucked up." She bitterly laughs to herself in derision. Her eyes then light up.

"But I'm not a bad person." She says with joy to herself.

Behind her is a destroyed road and underneath that road was a laboratory. The scientists researching whatever were torn apart like an animal went through them and chewed them up. The gore plastered itself on the walls and broken computer screens are strewn about everywhere. There was a large glass container where something broke free.

"Only…one more left, then world domination." She tries to smile to herself in hope, but there's nothing in it. Just an empty gray smile. She never considered recruiting help, but she met a person and did it on a whim. "Just what am I doing?" she lets out an exhausted sigh.

"Might as well get some rest here." She puts her back against a wall and drops down. She tries to stabilize her bleeding with some bandages, but it keeps leaking out. She grasps her hair tightly and tries to rip it out in agony, but then she reaches for her phone with dirty hands and stares at it.

"Tomorrow, right?" She knows that she's unsalvageable, but she just can't help it. Shimi believes that Wil will understand. He's her loyal subordinate…right?

Someone who's been all alone for a long time cannot comprehend friendship.

From the moment she met Wil, she knew that he didn't care about his life at all. She still can't pinpoint if he's suicidal or not, but his mindset was the only reason that they can form even a semblance of a bond. If Wil is a person who's suicidal, then Shimi is a person who's omnicidal.

Even if Wil managed to detect the sheer malice hidden within her, would he even stay by her side? These thoughts provoked her to force them to exchange contact every day.

"But…he messed up." He didn't call or even message her for an extended period of time. It was then that the lonely silence set in once more. This time, it was very undesirable. She was used to solitude for so long, but after having a taste of the forbidden fruit of friendship, she can't go back.

So, she called and messaged him every day with a multitude of emotions surging through her. Rage. Sadness. Hope. Despair. Fear. Disgust. And once he did eventually pick up…

She will stain the world in blood and dominate over its corpse. There's nothing left remaining in this world for her, so what does she even need from it? The Hero Association will be her main obstacle, so she's regaining all of her lost power scattered across the cities. She was broken apart and sifted like a lab rat, and only now is she coming back together whole.

She will destroy the Hero Association, the hope of this world. Then she will destroy the world and kill every last bit of life in it. Maybe she can leave Wil alive. She can't stand being alone anymore. She smiles to herself at her thoughts.

* * *

_Z-City_

"Gum-Gum: Jet Culverin!" Wil sent out both of his fists at rapid speeds to the dog that blasted through all the tunnels. There are many monsters watching the onslaught of man versus monster. Many of them have never seen Rover go berserk like this, firing off balls of pure energy everywhere.

They've entered an open cylindrical area, where Rover is running on the walls and shattering everything with the blasts of energy.

"Go **Python!**" His fist bounces off the walls multiple times and hits the monstrous mutt at ridiculous speeds. He was knocked off the walls into another fist stretching after him. The dog bites down on the arm, which gave Wil a slight wince.

He pulls the dog closer to him, while it's trying chew his arm off. The initial **Python **comes swerving behind him and knocks the dock even further to him at higher speeds. Wil stretches his head back and slams it on Rover's head, which makes him open his mouth and free his arm.

Will backs up and jumps off a wall. "**Gum-Gum: Black Mamba!**" A myriad of fists rain down on the dog as it gets pushed hard into the ground. The dog tries to force itself to stand from the pressure and charges up an even larger ball of energy in its mouth.

Rover keeps tanking the blows as it bounces off of him and gains even greater speed to hit him harder. Rover rushes at him through the punches with a glowing ball in his mouth and releases it at point-blank range.

"Shit!" Wil recalls both of his arms and blocks the explosive energy ball, sending him flying through walls into an open area. He sees a disgusting one-eyed monster. It's Gyoro Gyoro. They look at each other, the monster with intrigue, and Wil with irritation.

"Hot damn, you're one disgusting thing! You're ugly as sin! Why do you even exist in the first place?" Wil immediately spews toxic words, which only makes the monster chuckle ominously. He ignores it and turns towards the mutt bolting towards him. He jumps right over the claws and slams his fists downward on its head with all the force he can muster.

"_Sit boy!_" The attack smashes the ground beneath them both, then they both start falling downward.

Once they stop falling and land on the new ground, Rover stops attacking and just looks behind him. Wil has a good guess at what's behind him. He maintains his Gear Fourth and turns around to see Orochi, the self-proclaimed Monster King. He believes that the only Orochi that deserves to exist is an eight-headed dragon. Not some abomination with learning capabilities.

"So, you're my next opponent. I actually didn't expect fighting you at all this early, but I might as well make it easier on the Hero Association by blowing you away." Wil rubs his cheek and wipes the blood off of his forehead. Orochi's horn lengthens and attempts to pierce the human standing before him.

Wil grabs the horn and snaps it off, which enrages Orochi. Multiple snakes start spewing out of him as he takes a battle stance. He finally looks like the monster he's supposed to be and not some gigantic humanoid being. Wil is the one who makes the first move.

"**Gum-Gum: Jet Culverin!**"


	8. Raid

Chapter 8

Fire as far as the eye can see. The entire arena is burning up and breaking down into nothing. Overgrown Rover has already left us a long time ago. I'm feeling a little tired from fighting this fat asshole, and he's merely adapting to me the longer this fight goes on.

I've killed a lot of those snake-dragon things coming out of his body, and I've even took out a chunk of his torso that revealed even more abominations pouring out of it. We've decimated the arena in this base, and all that's left is rubble. The fortunate thing is that it hasn't been revealed to the above.

"Just…how durable are you?" I breathe out heavily. I cock my fist as tight as possible and let it fly towards his body with all of my power. He dodges the punch stretching…but it merely continues to bounce around him not hitting him. Where the fist lands, only broken cement remains. The earthquake from all the impacts has finally taken its toll, and now everything is falling down on us.

"**Gum-Gum: King Cobra!**" Right before his fist managed to crush me into the ground, my arm comes from behind me and grows into an even larger size, slamming into the Monster King's gut. It continues on pushing him through the walls. All that I see is an empty hole of inky darkness in front of me. Even I don't know how hard I actually hit him.

I wipe my busted lip in irritation as I hear breathing from the hole. He's still up…and my timer for Gear Fourth has just run out.

I instantly blow the air out of my body, flying all around the place before I settle down on my feet. I nearly drop to my knees in exhausting, but I manage to keep on standing.

"If I have to die to take you out then fine. I'll at least save some people the grief of fighting you." I see a beam in the darkness nearly envelop my entire body. I turn to the side and barely dodge the sizzling laser. The smoke from the fire is starting to get to my lungs, but I ignore it. I settle in a three-point stance and nearly pass out from my worn body.

"I must be more tired than I thought…" I prepare to use Gear Second right as the monster runs at me. Right before I get the timing right for the final battle in the dark, I feel an impact hit my side. Orochi charges through the empty space where I was and slides to a stop, but not before crashing into another wall.

I sit up and see…a person down here?! This blondie turns to me with serious eyes as they look at the monster turning around instantly. I try to stand up to finish the battle, but they hold my shoulder and I feel everything blur around me.

"What…the hell was that? That was extremely disorienting." I nearly fall over from nausea. I look around and notice that we've reached the surface of Z-City. I still feel like I'm going to vomit but seeing the moon sobers me up a bit. Just how long have I been fighting down there? More importantly, just who is this guy?

"Why did you even come there, and how did you even get there?" I'm just so damn tired after all the adrenaline ran out. I'm keeping myself up by speeding up my blood flow just a smidgen.

"What? Don't even wanna know my name?" They just give me a smile. Great…another annoying androgynous person. I let out a deep sigh of resignation as I play into their desires. Might as well analyze this irritation.

An unkempt short blonde-haired and blue-eyed person. Looks like a typical American…or wait. Maybe a European?

Why are you wearing a shawl and fingerless gloves? Why do people in anime like to wear these complicated outfits? At least you're wearing a standard combo of a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants. People should just stick to wearing casual and simple clothing. It's comfortable and cheap.

"Fine…what's your name?" I put as much cheer as I possibly can at the moment into my question. Which is to say, none at all. There is no cheer in me from failing to finish a battle. When I fight, I fight to the end. I don't care about results, but I do care about not finishing them.

"That's better. I'm Hikaru!" Alright I got a name. So, we have another interesting person who seems to be strong. Also, another person who wasn't in the manga.

I sit down to conserve my energy. I don't think I'll be able to keep myself on my feet if I don't rest a little. They look at me in anticipation.

Wait…this person is a male. Yeah, I got it down. I would say it's a trap, but the dude is wearing men's clothing. I was right when I used my intuition with Shimi, so I'll definitely be right again with Hikaru here.

"All right Akira. Just why did you come down there?" Give me the details already. I'm tired from fighting. But even though I'm tired, I still have this urge to keep going until I pass out.

"It's Hikaru." I just give them the smuggest smirk I can pull out at the moment. There's no way I'm not going to mess with you. I am the king of trolls and no one is going to take that title away from me.

"Well, it kinda started like this…"

* * *

_Flashback_

A nice fast food restaurant! The best kinda food around the world. I must try their burgers here. I was looking all around Z-City and I finally found one. Just what should I do now though. I've finally travelled to every single city in the world and fought many monsters.

I've gone undefeated in every last one of my battles and things are starting to get dull. Maybe there are even stronger dragon-level threats out there for me to take down. What about the rumored God-level threat that has a chance of existing. It's those hopes that keep my chin up for more fights.

I bite into the burger while trying to think of people I can challenge to a duel. Well, there are the S-Class heroes, but I don't want to interrupt them while they are saving others and killing monsters. I already took down Flashy Flash, but it was a complete accident that I ran into him.

I need to find them on their free days. There could also be people on the levels of S-Class that aren't a part of the Hero Association. Now that I think about it, there's been a rumor of an extremely strong monster in the ghost town part of this city. I should go check it out.

I pay for my food and leave for my destination.

This place is pretty dirty. Just how did the people let it get like this? Hero Association won't do anything about it either? Talk about lazy! Now there's shaking going around.

"What's causing this earthquake?" I put my ear to the ground and try to pinpoint where the rumbling is coming from. I detect that it's pretty deep underground, so I might as well check it out myself. I stomp and break the ground beneath me and begin free-falling.

"A tunnel?" The rumbling seems to have gotten louder. It's this way! I run towards the noise and notice two people battling. There's a large monster and a human in tattered and burnt clothes. I'm not too sure who's going to win this fight…

That guy's arm just sunk in on itself…! He lets it fly at the monster with extreme velocity. The monster dodged and it keeps bouncing off the walls as the monster jumps at him. It finally came from behind him and it took on the illusion of a giant snake. A large fist erupted from it and slammed into the monster.

Woah…! This guy's really strong. I'm getting into a fighting mood now. That monster is really good as well. Let's see how this battle changes…? That guy took a more normal human form.

"If I have to die to take you out then fine." My eyes widen in shock. Oh no you don't! I kick him out of the way of the monster's charge and prepare to move us out of here.

* * *

"And that's pretty much what happened!" He ends off with a smirk. So, he's a world traveler who came down there because of some rumbling. He also likes to challenge people to fights, like Flashy Flash who apparently got his ass kicked by this guy. But to do that…you would have to be faster than him.

"Yeah, I got it. Why didn't you at least help me take down that large monster? We could have destroyed him." I give him a look demanding him to explain his reasoning. He glares back at me with force.

"You were dead on your feet, and you may have died if the fight continued. I also prefer one-on-ones over anything when it comes to a fight. Shouldn't you be thankful?" I guess he has a point. I'm still feeling very weak, but the resolve to see a battle through to the end is stronger than the resolve to survive.

"Yeah, thanks… By the way, You're strong." I say that without question. I'm not going to doubt his claims of beating Flashy. The speed he pulled off when we escaped from that underground part of the Monster Association was ridiculous.

"Of course, I'm strong. But…sometimes I feel too strong." Heh, well you're no Saitama. Maybe I should point him over that direction for a curb stomping. Wait a sec, this is actually surprisingly lucky for me. I ran into a really strong dude who doesn't mind to fight others with his full strength. I stand up in excitement too quickly and I nearly fall over.

"Woah there! You should be more careful. Don't you remember your injuries?" He catches me and slings my arm over his shoulder to keep me up. I already owe this guy too much and it hasn't even been half an hour yet.

"Once I recover, I'll give you a fight to remember. I doubt you'll be able to defeat me though." I try to goad him into a future fight, but all that does is put a hopeful smile on his face.

"Really? Then I'll hold you to that. You better not go back on that!" I feel like I just signed a deal with an annoying person. He feels like the type of guy who would chase down someone across the world for losing a bet. I can't say that I don't get anything out of this though. I'll be able to have a nice and exciting battle on my hands soon enough.

"These injuries should heal by tomorrow. We can fight in the afternoon then." That surprises them.

"You heal so quickly? Alright then. Do you need my help getting back to where you live?" I shake my head. They then reach into my pocket and take my phone.

"What are you doing?" I question them doubtfully. This is what I get for not putting a password on this phone yet. His eyes light up once he sees it.

"I'm just putting my number in your contacts and putting your number in mine. I'm not going to let you go back on your promise." What an annoying dude! He's definitely the type of guy to ask for gas money every time he gives someone a ride!

"You could have just asked." I say a bit miffed.

"Yeah, but this is faster." He gives me an oblivious gaze. Well, he's not wrong, but it's the principle of the matter! That's three people in there though. Only seven left. Let's see…the people I can add in my contacts can be Bad, Zenko, possibly Sonic, maybe Genos in the future? I just need to get to ten and maybe I won't feel so lonely.

He hands me back my phone. "Are you sure you can get back without my help?" I get annoyed at his pestering concern.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll stumble my way back to a friend's place." I wave him off and walk away. I should probably tell Saitama about those stupid monsters below the city. Maybe he'll have some fun cleaning them out.

I can already feel my body getting a little bit better from my surprise excursion. I truly didn't expect to drop in front of an angry Rover like that, much less drop in on Orochi. At least my bad luck cut me some slack by giving me assistance. I couldn't take down any of the big and dangerous monsters, but I survived?

"Yeah, no. That's a loss in my book." I murmur to myself. I would have accepted dying as long as I killed Orochi. That would have cut a lot of bullshit out of this world that could harm people.

"I need more power." My speed is excellent and my stamina is fine for now. What I need is a way to hit harder and stronger. It's just not cutting it anymore. I pummeled Orochi and Rover with a lot of hits, but they still wouldn't go down. If I had to say what my power level in this place is…it would be a smidgen above Half-Monster Garou.

I don't know where to scale Overdrive to though. Saitama thought I was pretty fast, but he also called Boros pretty strong and he still couldn't do shit to Saitama. That's a last resort though, so it shouldn't count. Maybe I should try making my base state stronger? That will in turn increase the overall power of all of my gears.

Hikaru should be a push I need to force myself to new heights. He'll be able to make me stronger through just fighting him. I hope he's as strong as he says he is. To beat Flashy, you just need to be faster than him, which is difficult because of how fast he is.

"I'm already looking forward to this fight." I grin to myself. I'm trying to hypothesize how the fight would go and what he can do. What would he start with? How strong and how fast is he? Will he try to use tricks, or will he fight head on like his personality suggests?

"But first, I need to get some rest. I wonder if Saitama will let me crash at his place again." Well, only one way to find out. This time I remember exactly which door his apartment room is located. I'm not going to waste a bunch of time going throughout each door again. That was a huge pain in the ass.

Eventually, I stumbled my beaten body back. I knock on the door twice waiting for someone to answer it. A bald man answers it and looks on in surprise as he sees how messed up I am. I must look worse than I thought if he's looking at me like that…

"What the hell man? What happened to you? I thought you were only going to step outside." I enter his abode and slip off my shoes. I take off my hoodie and look at its ruined state. I really want an auto-repair function. I think I'm going to actually need it down the line.

"I got into a fight with two extremely powerful monsters. I didn't win, but I didn't lose either. I don't think I would've survived if it wasn't for some random stranger helping me out." He looks at my burns and bruises.

"Where are the monsters? It's dangerous to let them roam around the city." Hmm, should I hide it from him to keep the canon rails on the tracks, or should I tell him and bomb the tracks. I've already made my decision a long time ago. This world isn't static, it's dynamic with multiple people living in it.

They each have their own lives to live, and that's something I can't manipulate. Things are already different enough. I even met people not from the manga. Canon doesn't matter anymore. The stations never existed in the first place. So, I'll tell him and see what he does.

"Underground. There's a tunnel system with a bunch of monsters. Watch out for the super tanky dog, he can definitely take a punch from you. The big guy was the one who put me in this state though. He can take more than just a punch…I think." He nods to this.

"Got it. Guess I'll take care of them tomorrow." Goodbye Monster Association. I would like to say it was nice meeting you, but it clearly wasn't.

"You're tired right? I guess you can stay here another day." I should be surprised, but I'm not. This guy really is a nice dude.

"Then I'll take you up on that offer." I pull out the futon myself. I think I remember how to prepare it from chilling with Bad and his sister. It's simple enough and comfortable enough that it doesn't feel like I'm actually sleeping on the floor. Saitama is already going to sleep, so I guess I'll follow him.

I think I'm gonna go along with Saitama for that trip against the Monster Association. I gotta pay them back somehow. Maybe I can get Hikaru to help us clean them out as well. I close my eyes while thinking those thoughts.

* * *

That was a pretty good rest. I actually feel pretty refreshed without anyone to wake me up and just naturally waking up on my own. I look to my right and see Saitama watching TV.

"How long have you been up?" I ask him. He turns to me with the remote in his hand. He's also eating some cereal.

"Only for twenty minutes." I see, so I didn't sleep that late. I check the time and notice how early it is. Only seven in the morning. I wonder when he's going to go and destroy the Monster Association.

"Hey Saitama." I've finished stretching and I'm looking at Saitama in the eyes. "Let me help you clean up the underground monsters. I got a friend who's pretty strong that can come along as well." He nods his head in agreement. I need to get my clothes repaired again, but that can wait.

I pull out my phone and dial the number I just got last night from Hikaru. I leave the room after the second dial. On the fourth dial he picks up.

"Who is this…?" He sounds like he's half-asleep. Did I wake him up? Now I feel bad. A person's sleep is the most holy and inviolable thing in the world.

"It's Wil." He sounds like he's trying to get up.

"Who?" Wait…did I not tell him my name last night? I go back over the events of what happened yesterday and I realize that I actually didn't tell him my name. I must've been more out of it than I initially thought.

"The guy from yesterday you saved." And save me he did. Orochi really is a monster who just won't go down.

"Ah! I remember now. So, your name is Wil. I forgot to ask you about it. What do you need this early?" Sounds like he wasn't even tired in the first place. How do people energize themselves like that? That's kinda inhumanly crazy.

"Me and a really strong guy are going monster hunting. You should come join us." Hopefully this catches his attention.

"Are you trying to back out of our deal? You'll be tired from fighting monsters, then you'll use that as an excuse to put the fight off, won't you?" I will admit that it does seem favorable for me, and it does seem like something I would do.

"Nah, I'll still fight you. Just come help us clean out the place. It's just gonna be us three bros having a grand old time. We can be the Three Musketeers! My buddy's gonna be fighting that big monster from the other day though." Will he agree?

"Fine. Where are we meeting?" I tell him the address of the apartment. It seems like all he cares about is fighting. He's kinda similar to me, which is why I know exactly how to handle him somewhat. I go back inside to see Saitama finishing up his cereal.

"My friend, Hikaru agreed to accompany us. He's apparently really strong." I give him a grin.

"Are you going to go out in that?" He looks at my torn and worn clothes. My grin grows a bit bigger from that. I don't really care about my appearance, but I'll always keep this hoodie in tip-top shape as much as possible. I just keep forgetting though.

"Yup! Monsters wait for no one." He looks at me for just a second and sighs. I think he's going to go get dressed now. When's blondie getting here though?

"Ah." I turn to the door when I hear knocking sounds. That must be him right now. Talk about good timing. I open the door to see a fist coming for my face. I barely move my head to the side in an effort to dodge it. I look past the arm to see a grinning face.

"What was that for?!" Was it because I woke him up too early?

"You're pretty fast. That's a good thing! Do you know how annoyed I was when my phone went off during a wonderful nap session? I haven't slept like that in quite a long time, and it was ruined by you. How are you going to make this up to me?" I feel really bad now.

During my time in college, I remember never getting enough sleep because of studying, writing papers, and doing projects. Sometimes they overlapped and I had sleepless nights. Ruining a person's sleep is one of the worst sins one can do. How can I make it up to him…?

"Wait, I don't need to make it up to you! We're going on a fun-filled field trip. That was my payment to you for helping me out yesterday. Then we're going to fight later in the afternoon, so we're even right now." I will never let a person take advantage of me like that!

"Anyways, are you ready? Saitama should be ready soon." I wonder who's going to fight who. That water monster is a bad matchup for me and so is the Phoenix dude. There's also Black Sperm who actually cannot be killed unless he merges into a single form. He's ridiculously strong in that state as well.

I step outside and close the door. I lean against the wall while thinking against who I can go up against.

Let's see…there's Overgrown Rover who is probably the best matchup for me, Gyoro-Gyoro is just a shittier Tatsumaki who can't even control anyone, Nyan should be easy, not even going to consider Elder Centipede cause that's up to Saitama. Fuhrer Ugly should be strong, but manageable, Homeless Emperor got gimped by Zombieman which means he's scrub-tier, and Gouketsu is just a really strong martial artist.

Oh! Can't forget about Evil Natural Water and Golden Sperm. Those two along with Elder Centipede are the worst matchups for me. They can all regenerate and two of them are just straight up unbeatable for me.

Is there anyone or anything I'm missing…? My memory of this series isn't perfect, but I think I listed all the threats. I just need to avoid the water, the sperm, and the centipede. The door opens to reveal Saitama in that superhero outfit.

"Ready?" I ask with a smile. He looks over to Hikaru who also looks at Saitama. Hikaru nods and turns to me.

"He's strong, but you're first." He just really won't let me go at all.

"Alright, I'll lead you both to where I stumbled over the hideout." Instead of taking down the stairs like a normal person, all of us jump from the railing down to the ground. I lead them with what I remember to the manhole cover.

After ten minutes of searching for it, I finally come across it once more. My eyes light up as I jog over to it and lift it up. "Here it is everyone! Watch out for annoying monsters." I was about to warn them exactly what to look out for, but Hikaru jumps down instantly and Saitama follows. I'm left there in the dust.

"Does anyone know why people don't split up…" I feel desolate and lonely now. They should be fine…right? I'm a little worried about Hikaru, but it was his choice to come along. I follow them immediately and notice that they aren't anywhere around. I walk through the tunnels for a little bit, then I see a congregation of monsters charge me.

"I don't have time for you!" I Gatling them all to death, but there's just so many. It feels like I've been doing it for three minutes straight when the horde of them finally stops. The rest who're alive retreat out of fear.

"She didn't tell us that this guy was a monster!" They're running away…? I'm pretty sure that they'll get killed for doing that, but it's less work for me. I walk around some more, then I run into the absolute shittiest matchup for me.

"Fuck." I see a blob of water with a pair of eyes and fish floating inside of it. It's Evil Natural Water and its amorphous body is locking straight on to me. It detects killing intent, but does it detect fighting intent?

When it charged at me, I received the answer I needed. "Why do you detect fighting intent as well?!" I get ready to have an uphill battle. I at least hope the others are doing alright because this situation is just unfortunate for me.

* * *

Hikaru is walking past an uncountable number of monsters chopped into pieces and burnt to a crisp. He trailed right past them without a single mark on his clothes or body.

"I came because of the promise of a good fight, but it's kinda boring right now." He lets out a yawn from being tired already. He didn't get enough sleep due to a personal issue. His body tenses immediately and dodges a heavy creature that tried to sneak up on him. He turns to see a large, roly-poly type of monster.

"You seem a bit stronger than the others. I hope that you're strong enough to make my blood sing!" He charges at the monster faster than it could perceive, and instantly pivots on his left foot to dodge a beak coming from behind. The large monster used the distraction to swallow him whole, but he was zapped by sparks of electricity before he could chomp down.

"So, it's a two-on-one." Hikaru says with eagerness. He relishes at the opportunity to be pushed beyond his limits. The second monster facing him down is a tall golden bird resembling a phoenix with large white eyes.

"So, you're one of the intruders. We've been instructed to take you down, dead or alive." Hikaru blinks at the surprise of a monster actually not wanting to kill someone.

"Really? Well, I don't care about that." In the middle of his speech, he appeared right before the bird's eyes and punched his chest knocking him through multiple walls. "After all, you're all gonna die here!" He ends cheerfully. He then drives the heel of his shoe into the second monster's gut.

* * *

A bald man is jogging throughout a tunnel system. He hears the loud explosions and noises being made in the area.

"Guess those two are fighting." He notes to himself. He has a small hope that one of the monsters will be able to hold a punch from him. He always holds this small hope with each battle he fights, but he's always disappointed. Yesterday, some random guy told him his fortune and he took it for granted, but like always he keeps his hopes high.

After fighting Wil for a bit, he still wasn't able to force Saitama to go all out. Not even close. "But, he was pretty quick at the end." He has a small hope that maybe he can eventually be strong enough to contend with him. That's all Saitama can do at this moment. Everything is based on faith for him.

He needs to have faith that a battle will make him excited again. He needs to have faith that he truly isn't the strongest. He needs to have faith that his emotions won't dull completely until he can no longer feel them. He needs to have faith that he makes it to a bargain sale every time there's one.

He needs to have faith that his hair will grow back one day.

While he's contemplating, a monster pops up in front of him. He goes to throw a punch in front of him with faith that it will survive, but like all opponents he faced after becoming bald, it fell in one punch again. "One punch again…"

"We have some strong intruders this time." A monster with an extremely annoying voice appeared in front of Saitama. Saitama looks up from his melancholy and sees a humanoid monster with a fully black body and a white face, with an antenna on top of its head.

"But it seems I got the weak one." It says with a small frown on its face. "I'm the one usually looked down upon, but you…are even more miserable then me. Who goes bald at that age. I'll finish you quick out of pity." The monster charges straight into a punch by a ticked off Saitama.

It reforms into a whole body and splits into two. "I see you're stronger than you look. I'm the same way." Saitama is a little intrigued about the monster who not only survived a punch, but split in two. Maybe this could be a fight that he's been looking for?

* * *

Hikaru has already ripped apart the monster with a large mouth and no lips. That monster was called Gums. It was one of the Executives of Monster Association, but it was sliced apart like paper when faced against Hikaru's blades of plasma extending from his fingers.

"Well, that was a bit disappointing." The moment he says that, a burst of light explodes out behind him, heralding the rebirth of the Phoenix.

"Gyoro-Gyoro once told me overcoming the hell of a near death experience is the true secret behind a monster's explosive growth." A monstrous man wearing a Phoenix's costume emerges from the light.

"I am the embodiment of my costume. To revive endlessly and triumph all hardships is the nature of my monstrosity." His arrogant tone is starting to annoy Hikaru. After his grandstanding, he attacks.

"**Phoenix Explosion Beak Attack!**" The majesty of a real Phoenix overshadows his charge as he rushes beak first at the blonde. He uses the speed to tear him in half with the plasma blades as he dodges to the side. He's left bleeding out on the verge of death, unconscious.

"You…can get stronger, can't you? Come on and revive again. Show me a real fight, worthy of your strength." Something strange enters his voice. He walks closer to the fallen monster, then a wall blows out from the charge of a dog. Overgrown Rover opens his mouth to release a ball of energy. It blasts where Hikaru is as he turns around and sees it inching closer towards him.

* * *

Wil is futilely trying to destroy the amorphous blob of water in front of him. This Evil Natural Water is invincible against someone like him. He doesn't have the raw power to reduce it to dust, so it can regenerate indefinitely.

"What if I cause a steam explosion in its body…?" He activates Gear Second in hopes of reducing its body to steam and mist. He wants to evaporate the entire thing.

"**Gum-Gum: Red Hawk!**" He fires off a burning hardened fist towards its body. The fist lands on the center of the body and the heat spreads out, turning it into a fine mist. The steam explosion burned the arm he used to punch with.

"Did that do it?" He throws his body to the side to avoid a jet of water from piercing through his skull. "He regenerated from the water vapor?" Wil is surprised at how powerful the regeneration the monster possesses. It could pull the water from the vapor and come back fully from just that.

"Just how am I supposed to reduce you to nothing?" The floor starts shaking tremendously. The walls and everything are starting to fall apart from the collapsing pressure of a gigantic monster. Wil spots the carapace of an insect-like monster.

"You've gotta be kidding me…! I'm the one who gets stuck with the monsters I literally can't do shit about, either because of its physiology, or the sheer damn size of it!" He's getting frustrated, but he notices the Elder Centipede is just rampaging around and making a mess of everything rather than just fighting him.

"What's it doing?" He can't afford to be curious due to a monstrous slime trying to envelop him. "Ah, I don't have time for this! I don't run from fights, so I'm taking you down right here!"

I throw forward a stretching black fist through its body and burst one of the eyes floating inside. It lets out a silent scream from the pain and blasts multiple jets of water everywhere. I cover my arms in Haki and cross it in front of my body trying to dodge and block everything. Maybe I can pop its remaining eye and snatch all of the fish from its body.

"Would that do anything?" Only one way to find out.

* * *

"Oh! There's a new monster." A dark look of excitement makes its way to Hikaru's face as he stands upside down on the ceiling. Sparks of electricity arcs around his shoes and the ceiling.

He avoided the ball of energy from atomizing him and he's looking at all six of the dog monster's eyes. He switches targets from the Phoenix to Rover. He drops down and spins into an axe kick before the dog can fully open its mouth again.

It has its mouth shut prematurely, injuring the jaws and the structure of its skull. The sheer durability of it though manages to keep it fighting strong without a hint of an injury. It tries to blitz the opponent before it, but Hikaru gracefully dodges it and slashes deep into its hide.

"Wow, you can actually take these weapons of mine." Hikaru is truly amazed from seeing one of the few opponents taking on his plasma weapons head on with nothing but the strength of its body.

While he passes through him, Rover tries to sweep him with its tail and misses. Hikaru backs up only to hear another explosion of light behind him. He realizes that the Phoenix monster has revive again and most likely has evolved to an even greater strength once more.

"I must thank you, human." Hikaru turns around to see shining wings and smoke obscuring his body from view. "You truly are strong to have pushed my evolution this far." The monster seems to be reminiscing as he admires himself.

"Even after my show was cut short and taken off the air, I couldn't take off my birdbrain costume. Whether it was from a hope that I could once again be on the air, or a lingering sentiment, my humanity gradually began to fade away. I fused with my costume that gained a life of its own and transcended."

The smoke begins to fade away and the wings open up to reveal a monster with an aura of grandeur.

"I've finally been released from the shackles of humanity and monsters, and my light will shine brighter than the world and last for all of eternity. I will even outshine the sun! For now and forever, the world is my stage and I am the protagonist! I who've suffered and toiled over and over again, dancing on the edge of death has finally achieved victory through perseverance!"

"Will you be the one…" Throughout the boasting, Hikaru's face only had a small amount of change. His voice has started quivering and the monster mistook it for awe.

"Will you be the one to make me reach new limits?!" All the Phoenix could see is a face of utter lunacy seeking the very limits of strength. A strange grin splitting his face in half and eyes wide open in manic joy is all the monster could view.

Rover couldn't see the human's face, but he knew that something had greatly changed. He was about to rush the person once more, but he received orders to retreat from one of his masters. He sulked and ran like a mistreated dog back to its owner.

"No matter how strong you are, I will always be better, stronger, faster, and smarter!" The shining monstrous combination between a Phoenix and an Eagle reaches for Hikaru's body with his claw. It was stopped dead by the plasma extending from his fingertips. The collision sent reverberations down Hikaru's arms.

Claws met blades and feet met talons as each fighter tried to gain an edge over the other. Hikaru wouldn't let the beak nor the talons scratch his body, and the monster couldn't afford the let those blades of pure plasma rip through his body. The Phoenix was right about one thing though.

"Is that really all you have?! Come on, I expected more after seeing that unnerving face of yours." At this point of his evolution, he is stronger than Hikaru. His knuckles and hands are bleeding all over from clashing with his claws and talons.

"I see, you're strong enough to beat this side of me. But can you take it up to the next level?" Hikaru says the ominous words and retract the lightning blades from his fingertips and closes his hands into fists. The monster is surprised by this turn of events, but then Hikaru immediately appears in front of him with his fist outstretched.

"What…?" A heavy left cross knocked his head right off his shoulders resulting in a night-instant death. That was the only word that could come off his lips. Even as he died he couldn't understand why the person he was a bit faster than suddenly vanished before his eyes and defeated him instantly.

Not even the infinitely reviving monster can come back from death.

"I see… You couldn't match up at all." Hikaru lets out a sigh filled with disappointment. He looks around for the dog that was there earlier, but it ran off earlier. "Oops, I let one of them escape. Hopefully it won't go attacking innocents." He's a bit worried by this large group of strong monsters going up to the surface and rampaging around the city.

"Guess I should go further in." An enormous centipede crashes its body through the walls impacting Hikaru's gut.

* * *

There is a swirl of black liquid combining together to form a powerful being. Saitama is waiting in a bored stance for his opponent to finish.

"I'll admit you're strong, but waiting for me to transform to my ultimate state was your biggest mistake! This is my strongest Golden state!" Where the monster was black, he is now gold. "We are Golden Sperm!" The monster is arrogantly laughing in triumph, utterly sure of its victory.

"Isn't that just piss?" Saitama asks while picking his nose. Yes, Golden Sperm can also be referred to as piss. This is an extreme sore spot for this powerful monster. Whenever anyone saw this form and said that, he annihilated them completely out of fury.

"You dare look down on me?!" Saitama shattered the mood of the battle, and the monster charges blindly. Saitama being tired of this regenerating monster, attempts to punch it to death. What surprised him is that the monster actually survived the punch by crossing its arms.

'Could it be?' He thinks to himself. This could be the battle that his faith has paid off for. He needs to gradually increase in power to see if this monster can handle him.

The monster charges again with even greater speed…and this time Saitama moves to meet him. Golden Sperm punches Saitama in the face not budging him at all and Saitama's fist meets the monster's chest, blowing it away through several walls.

Saitama is about to become disappointed again, but the monster crawls out of the rubble much to his delight. 'That's two!' His excitement isn't showing on his face though. All the monster can see is a tanned egg with an emotionless face drawn on it.

"W-what kind of monster are you?!" Saitama moves to reply, but the ground starts shaking tremendously.

"Just a hero for fun." The ground beneath them collapses, but not before they jump to higher ground. They both see a part of a gigantic centipede burrowing through all of the tunnels. Saitama looks up to his opponent and notices that he vanished.

"He ran away…? The only thing that's taken more than one punch actually ran before we finished our battle?" The terrifying visage of an Asura appeared behind a distraught Saitama. He then glares at the monster that gave it the opportunity to flee from him.

* * *

I just got a shiver down my spine for some reason. Actually, forget that! I have this stupid thing that literally won't die in front of me, and now I have this stupid centipede monster here as well. I actually got both of the shittiest matchups for me. The large centipede opens its mouth and swallows Evil Natural Water and begin to tunnel upwards.

"Running?! Like hell I'll let you!" I stretch my arm to grab onto its carapace. It's dragging me up along with it as I pull my body onto it. Elder Centipede breaks through the ground and flies all the way up to the surface. It's like I'm riding a bull!

"Well at least I made it up to the surface…" I look downward and see Saitama also gripping onto the centipede and Hikaru standing vertically on it without even slipping off. I can't afford to let this thing get into the main part of the city. I blow air into my thumb.

"**Gear Third.**" I send the mass of air to my right leg as I lift it high into the sky. I use Armament Haki on it to increase its power. "**Gum-Gum: Giant Axe!**" I bring it down hard on the monster's carapace. I shatter it, which reveals another carapace beneath it. I forgot about that!

I start falling off without anything to hang on, but Hikaru grabs me by my hood also cutting off my air supply. This wild ride abruptly ends by Saitama punching down hard onto the monster out of annoyance.

"You interrupted my fight!" I think that may've been a serious punch because it blew a fatal hole through the entire monster. We all start falling down towards a bunch of collapsed buildings. Saitama and Hikaru land perfectly while I fall flat on my ass. If I wasn't rubber then I would've busted a second hole in my ass.

"Well, that was interesting!" Hikaru opens up with a chuckle. I turn to him with irritation for nearly suffocating me to death. I stand up and lean on a piece of rubble.

"So, what monsters did you guys fight? I went up against something that I literally couldn't kill no matter what I did. It was made of water and as long as there is a drop of it, the asshole will keep regenerating indefinitely." Might as well chat with them and see what their experiences were fighting these powerful monsters.

If only I went up against something that I could actually take down. Too bad that I'm not that lucky.

"Well, I went up against a reviving Phoenix monster. I killed it though after its second revival. There was also a giant dog shooting energy balls at me, but it retreated before I could finish it off." He killed Phoenix man? Also, Overgrown Rover was there, but ran off?

We both turn to Saitama to see what he matched up against. He looks extremely depressed though.

"I went up against a sperm monster. It kept splitting, then it formed into one Golden Sperm which actually took punches from me!" He sounded so excited and hopeful. I'm surprised he ran into him though. I thought I would unluckily get ganked by him, but why is Saitama getting sadder as he talks?

"HE RAN!" He shouted out of despair. "The first opponent that could take a punch in a long time just ran from me! Actually, all of the monsters fled from the tunnels and ran off somewhere. You told me that there was another guy who could take punches as well, but I can't fight him because they all ran!"

Yikes, Saitama sounds like he's going to instantly punch them to death the moment he sees them. Wait, so Hikaru was the only one who actually killed one of the stronger monster? What's more is that all the monsters fled from their little home here. That means that canon is officially off the rails, I think. Garou only escaped because of Phoenix man, so what's going to happen in the future?

Might as well call Shimi today before I forget.

She picks up on the first dial much to my surprise.

"So…I had one hell of a day." Well whatever happens, at least I can say that it won't be boring.


End file.
